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Pratapgarh district (Rajasthan)
Encyclopedia
Pratapgarh district is the 33rd district of Rajasthan, created on 26 January 2008. It is a part of Udaipur Division
and has been carved out from the erstwhile tehsils of Chittorgarh
, Udaipur
and Banswara
districts. Pratapgarh
town (Pin Code 312605, STD Code 01478) is the administrative headquarters of the district.
As of 2011 it is the second least populous district of Rajasthan (out of 33
), after Jaisalmer
.
clan is amongst the ancient royal families in India. This family ruled Mewar
for more than eight hundred years. The famous Rajput
s- Maharana Sangram Singh (also known as Rana Sanga
), Maharana Kumbha and Maharana Pratap (May 9, 1540 – January 19, 1597) all belonged to this family. The rulers of 'Partabgadh-Raj' were descendants of Sisodia clan of Mewar Rajputs.
Maharana Kumbha (1433–1468) was the ruler of Chittaurgarh state in 14th century. Legend has it that due to some family dispute on property issues with his cousin Kshem Singh alias Kshemkarna (1437–1473), angry King Kumbha expelled him from his territory. Kshemkarn's family was refugee for some time and lived in the Aravali ranges in the southern most part of Mewar regime. In 1514, Kshemkarn’s son Prince Surajmal (1473–1530) became the ruler of Devalia. Surajmal established his capital of ‘Kanthal-Desh’ at Dewaliya, (also called Devgarh), a small town about 10 km in the west from present Pratapgarh town, where old temples,cenotaphs, a historical palace and other ruins of bygone Partabgarh regime still can be seen. Thus, historically, Pratapgarh has been an integral part of Mewar Rulers of Udaipur.
Etymology
The name of Pratpgarh is after Maharawat Pratap Singh and not Maharana Pratap, as commanly mistaken!
It is said that 'as the climate
of Devgarh was not found to be suitable by the royal family', one of the descendants of Surajmal, Maharawat Pratap Singh of 10th generation (1673–1708) started to build a new town ahed of native village Devgarh in 1689–1699 and later named it as Partabgarh, with a fortwall around his new palace and small township with eight entry gates. At that time, the area of Pratapgarh was reported to be about 889 squre miles, whereas Dhariyawad, another small town near Pratapgarh, was founded by Rana Sahasmal, the grandson of legendary Maharana Pratap in the mid 15th century.
at viilage 'Doderiya-ka-Kheda', started in 1699 AD. It was he, who developed the main market (Sadar Bazar) first of all. A detailed and proper planning was done before starting the construction-work. As per the plans, it was decided to build 3 main Markets, 52 Streets, some Hindu temples, etc. in the first instance.
As Pratapgarh started developing, the old capital of Devgarh started getting neglected. The royal palace
of Devgarh wore a deserted look and started getting gradually deteriorated. One of successors of Pratap singh, Gopal Singh took over the reins of the partabgarh-raj in 1721. He developed the 'Gopalgunj Mohalla' during his regime. His son Saalim Singh continued the construction work further and developed the 'Saalampura-Mohalla' and founded a new village called 'Saalamgarh' little away from the main town. It was during his rule that Pratapgarh was cordoned off by building up city's fort-walls on all the sides. There were 8 gates of entry provided during that time. Bigger gates were named as 'Sooraj-pole', 'Bhatpura-Baaree', 'Dewaliya-Darwaazaa' and 'Dhamottar-Darwaazaa'. The smaller ones were called 'Taalab Baaree' and 'Qilaa Baaree'. All of these were manned by armed security guards during the day and were closed in the night. Tukoji, the chief of Army of Malhar Rao Holkar
made an attack on Pratapgarh in 1761, but could not succeed to overpower it, nor could he get any ransom.
History of Pratapgarh in Mughal and British era-
Pratapgarh remained to a large extent unaffected during the Mughal
era. At that time the state of Pratapgarh used to pay a ransom of Rs. 15,000 annually to the Delhi-rulers. Saalim Singh obtained written permission from the then Mughal king Shah Alam II
to introduce a local currency for his state and named it as Saalimshahi-Sikka (coin), which was made in a local mint
-(Partabgarh-Taksal). In 1763, Malhar Rao Holkar
(16 March 1693 – 20 May 1766), while proceeding towards Udaipur
, extorted some amount from Saalim Singh, who later also sent his troops to assist Ari Singh, the ruler of Mewar, when some local 'Sardaars' revolted against him in 1768.
During the regime of Saamant Singh, (the elder son of Saalim Singh), Marathas continued to harass Pratapgarh-state and Saamant Singh had no option but to agree to pay a sum of Rs. 72,720/- annually as "Khiraj" to keep the Maratha-invadors away.
However, to save the state from the regular extortion by Holkers, Saamant Singh entered into an agreement with the English Government in 1804 'to pay the same amount of "Khiraj"(खिराज) to the Britishers' instead. But due to new political policies of Lord Cornwallis, this treaty could not sustain for long, resulting into taking over the state of Pratapgarh into the direct control of British rulers.
Saamant Singh handed over the administration to his eldest son Deep Singh, just after the English treaty in 1804, who administered the state in the initial stage more or less satisfactorily, but rebellions against him soon started raising their heads. He got assisinated some persons, who were antagonistic to him and his 'policies'. Displeased by his deed, the British Government asked him to leave Pratapgarh forever to stay in village Devalia for rest of his life, but Deep Singh did not like this 'seclusion'. After some time when he returned back from the confinment to Pratapgarh defying the orders of British, an English army-troop defeated him in a battle and imprisoned him in Achnera-(H.Q. Arnod), where he breathed his last in 1826.
The period of Raja Gopal Singh, between 1827 and 1864 was an epoch of turmoil and polititical instability in Pratapgarh.
Since the early times the major area, especially the north-western part of this region had very dense forests, a separate state forest department in 1828, was created to manage state's exceptionally rich forest-wealth.
In 1865 Uday Singh became the Raja, who introduced some reforms, established civil courts, started relief works during the notorious Great Famine of 1876–78
, opened fair price shops for the citizens and also exempted certain civilian taxes. Uday Singh built a new palace in Pratapgarh for himself in the year 1867 AD more or less on the lines of those built by the Britishers and started living there (see picture).
He then started getting involved in the development of Pratapgarh regularly. Uday Singh opened the first Ayurvedic dispensary in Pratapgarh in 1867 AD where conventional medical treatment was given to patients. Thereafter some Pathshallas (schools) were opened in 1875 AD to provide free education all over the state.
He passed away in 1890 without having a son of his own, therefore, his widow adopted one of her first cousins- Raghunath Singh of Arnod 'Thikana' to be accepted as their legal heir. Finally in 1891 Raghunath Singh was accepted as the Raja by the British.
The state Police was reconstituted, and certain Land reforms especially settlement came into being in 'Khalsa villages' during Raghunath Singh's regime. It was in his tenure in that the 'English currency' was accepted as 'state currency'. The process of modernisation thus began.
A Municipal Committee was formed in 1893 AD in the capital-town during the regime of Raghunath Singh. During this period the Mandsaur-Pratapgarh road was also constructed connecting Central Province
with Rajputana
. A separate customs department was established. New post offices were opened, administrative departments were reorganized. Slowly the legal-machinery started getting developed and three levels of courts- The Deewani Court, The Zila Court and The High Court started functioning from Pratapgarh. After Small 'thikanas' and 'Jagirdars' were also given certain legal powers, Judiciary
was separated from 'Mahakma-Khaas'. The Zila Court had powers up to proclaiming the capital punishment
or expelling a person outside the territory "(Shahar-badar-Sazaa)". However, such a 'harsh punishment' required ratification from (the then) 'Maharaja-Saab'.
After Maharawat Raghunath Singh retired, his son (Sir) Ram Singh became the king and during his tenure, new reforms were introduced in Agriculture, Education, Medical and local-self-government sectors. A High Court
was also established during this period. Welfare measures like Insurance-scheme, retirement-benefits etc. for the state employees were undertaken. Praja Mandal activities also got a boost. He also received a title of "Sir" from the British Government.
The development continued and by 1900, Patapgarh had a school up to Middle level (8th Standard). This was an achievement for a small town because during that time the bigger towns around like Mandsaur, Neemach, Javra, Chhoti Sadri, Badi Sadri, Nimbahera, and even chittorgarh did not have any high schools or organised hospitals. The hospital of Pratapgarh was cosidered to be the biggest one in the area. It had two wards- one for Males (45 beds) and another for females (30 beds capacity). It had all the facilities for surgery too. Because of the avalable amenities, it was nominated as 'Zila Hospital', which also housed the offices of District Medical and Health Officer of the area.
district and then of Chittaurgarh. Mrs. Vasundhara Raje
, the then Chief Minister of Rajasthan, announced Pratapgarh to be an independent district in 2008.
Well known for pure gold and glass-inlay handmade unique jewelry called "Thewa
", Pratapgarh, as the 33rd district of Rajasthan, came into existence on 26 January 2008, comprising five Tehsils/ sub-divisions, Pratapgarh, Chhotee Sadri, Dhariyawad, Arnod and Peepalkhoont.
The district is dotted with good number of ancient and historical sites, but in want of a detailed study either by the archaeological survey of india
or by The Department of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Rajasthan
, there are no 'protected monuments' as such. A few important still unexplored archaeological and historical sites include Avleshwara, Ghotaavarshika (Ghotarsi), Sidheriya, Gandharvpur (Gandher) Jaanagarh, Veerpur and many others. Sita Mata sanctuary houses pre-historic rock engravings.
separate from Chittorgarh district
, of which it was a part. The Government of Rajasthan
declared on 6 July 2006 its intention to create Pratapgarh as a separate district. The process of officially declaring Pratapgarh as a new district took some time. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje
declared Praratapgarh as 33rd district of Rajasthan on 8 March 2007 in legislative assembly
's budget session. Pratapgarh, Arnod and Chhoti Sadri tehsils from chittaurgarh district, Peepal Khoont from Banswada district and Dhariyawad from Udaipur district were unified togather to form this new district.
As Pratapgarh already had some district offices (a district session court (since 1944), district hospital, district jail
etc.) and also a different vehicle registration code than Chittaurgarh, this was an apt decision. Significant progress in all spheres of economic-socio-cultural life is noticiable after 2008. However, much is to done in creating essential infra-structural facilities and overall literacy.
Pratapgarh is located at 24.03° N 74.78° E with an average elevation of 580 meters (1610 feet above MSL). It is said to be the second highest place (?) in Rajasthan after Mount Abu. Situated on the junction of the Aravali mountain ranges and the Malwa Plateau its unique location prominently carries the geological characteristics of these both.
Area
The geographical area of Pratapgarh is 4,11,736 hectares, out of which forest area is 1,20,976 hectares (2009-'10).
Climate, Soil, Topography and Minrels
The average annual rainfall is 856 mm. The soil
is mainly highly fertile Black Cotton Soil made of magma
of volcano
s. The major rivers of the district are Jakham, Mahi, and Siwana or shiv. Other seasonal rivers are Som, Era, and Karmoi. Out of five, four sub divisions except Chhoti Sadri, are notified forest
blocks, where no major industry
or mining
activity is allowed under law. However, in non-forest regions of Chhoti Sadri (and part of Pratapgarh and Dhariyawad), small scale mining
activities are in operation extracting mainly red ochre, calcite
, dolomite
, quartz
, feldspar
and soapstone
. Marble
, Building-stone and Limestone
are also available in small quantities.
, Chhoti Sadri
, Dhariawad
, Peepal Khoont
and Pratapgarh
.
The number of revenue villages in Arnod Tehsil is 178, in Choti Saari Tehsil the number is 141, Dariyawad Tehsil is 249 whereas Peepal khoont Tehsil has 23 and in Pratapgarh Tehsil there are 330 revenue villages.
The major villages of Pratapgarh district include Dhamottar, Kulmipura, Sidhhpura, Rathanjana, Dhaula Pani, Devgarh, Salamgarh, Parsola, Ghantali, Arnod, Gandher, Asawsata, Kulthana, Avleshwar, Rajora, Kuni, Mokhampura, Hathunia, Basera, Basad, Varmandal, Bajranggarh, Suhagpura, Rampuriya, Chiklad, Gyaspur, Barawarda, Bardia, Thada, Panmodi, Jhansadi, Gautmeshwara, Dalot, Ghantali, Peepalkhoont, Rajpuriya, Bambori and Bagwas.
The old city of Pratapgarh has many narrow streets and congested houses, but in the last decade, the outer parts of the city have developed rapidly. Since 2008, new civil lines quarters, a full fledged police-line (with 120 residential houses), a modern Collectorate-building, District Stadium
and Circuit house have been built, in addition to many private and public buildings in and around the town. 10 bighas of land has been earmarked in May 2011 near new collectorate campus for construction of new buildings of Judicial courts.
has been the District Collector
of Pratapgarh district from 25/10/2010 to 13/8/2011, Mrs. Teena Soni took over this charge from him on 13/8/2011.
The erlier collectors were Dr. Prithwiraj Sankhla (from 26/01/2008 to 01/01/2009) Bhanu Prakash Yeturu (from 07/01/2009 to 16/04/2010) and Rohit Gupta (From 19/04/2010 to 19/10/2010).
The first phase of the new building of collectorate, built with an approximate cost of Rs.8.85 crores (see picture) was inaugurated and dedicated to the public by shri Ashok Gahlot, the chief minister
of Rajasthan, on 18 May 2011 in presence of Union surface transport minister Dr. C. P. Joshi
and many other public representatives.
This building shall shortly have a separate wing of SP office and the Zila Parishad added to it, along with a new campus of all district
and subordinate courts of judiciary
.
Pratapgarh has 13 police station
s at Pratapgarh (city), Chhotee Sadri, Dhariyawad, Arnod, Peepalkhoont, Dhaula Pani, Dhamottar, Rathanjana, Salamgarh, Suhagpura, Devgarh, Hathuniya and 16 Police-chowkis are under them. One District Jail
is located in Pratapgarh and a sub-jail in Chhoti Sadri, where under trial prisoners are housed.
Crime
2256 cognizable
and 6535 non-cognizable offences under the Indian Penal Code
and other acts were registered in the year 2010. The alarming trend in crime is extortion
and collecting illegal ransom
from businessmen, by organised criminal mafia operating locally as well as from outer cities.
, (in Chhoti Sadri) in 1980, Junior Judicial Magistrate’s court in 1983, Additional Judicial Magistrate’s court in 1989, Scheduled Castes-Scheduled Tribes Special Trial Court in 1992, Special court for Narcotics Cases in 1994, a District Consumers' Court, two ACJM courts (in Arnod and Dhariyawad) in 2008, and recently a “Rural Court” in 2010. Thirteen revenue courts- those of the Revenue Appeallate Authority (1), Collector & DM (1), Additional Collector & ADM (1), SDMs(5) Tehsidars (5) are also working in the district.
and Vagad
cultures, Pratapgarh known in earlier times as ‘Kanthal
’, is surrounded by Udaipur
, Banswada
, Chittaurgarh districts of Rajasthan and Neemach and, Mandsaur
districts of Madhya Pradesh
(MP). The people of this region are more linked with MP for social obligations than other parts of Rajasthan
, because Neemuch
, Mandsaur
and Ratlam
districts of MP surround Pratapgarh boundaries in about 60% length.
The district includes habitants of all sects, religions and castes including Bhil
, Balai
, Bhanti, Dhholi, Patidar
, Rajput
, Brahmin
, Mahajan
, Sunar
, Darzi
, Chamar
, Luhar, Suthar
, Nai
, Dhobi
, Koli
, and above all Mina
; major occupants are traditional Meena
tribals, exclusively dependent on agriculture
, animal husbandry
and forestry
, who have their own culture
, attire, dialect
, ritual
s, fairs and festivals. A good number of native Bohra Muslim families are engaged in overseas trading and business in Middle East
countries.
The major attractions of the district are Sita Mata Wildlife Sanctuary
and Jakham Dam
, however, large number of visitors and pilgrims do visit the old temples at Ambamata Shaktipeethh, Bhanwarmata, Gautameshwara Mahadev Paapmochan Teertha, Sholi Hanuman Temple, Deepeshwar Mandir and many other temples. The magnificent Tomb (Dargah ) of Saiyadi Kaka Saheb is also a popular destination, especially amongst Daudee Bohra community of Muslims, who gather here in large numbers on the occasion of Annual Urs
of Saiyadi Kaka Saheb.
The major fairs of this region are- Ambamata Fair, Sita Mata Fair, Gautameshwara Fair (on 'Vaishak-Poornima') and Bhanwar Mata Fair. Fairs on stipulated dates are also held in small places like Shaulee-Hanumanjee, Gangeshwara-Parsola, Manaa-Gaon, and Gupteshwara Mahadev in and around Pratapgarh.
Although all major Hindu
festivals like Diwali
, Govardhan Puja
, Holi
, 'Rang-Teras','Raksha Bandhan', 'Mahashivratri', 'Hanuman Jayanti
' and 'Vijayadashami
' etc. are celebrated in Pratapgarh, yet 'Sharad Navratri' and 'Vasant Navratri' both are also celebrated in the city with fun and floric. "Doondhotsava" is celebrated on Holi. The people of city do not celebrate "Dhulendi' on the following day after Holi, as done all over India, but color holi is celebrated thireen days after on the hindu day of "Rang Teras". 'Gair'-Dancers can be seen all over the villages during 'Dashaamaataa' festival. A procession of folk-God Baba Ramdevji
is a regular feature on 'Bhag-Dashmee Teej'. 'Sheetalaa Saptmee' is also observed in the district, when only "Makki-Dhoklas" (cooked before a day prior to the festival) are consumed. Some tribals have a tradition of 'second marriage' as an approved social-custom.
Like many other places in the region, the most prominent custom is "Mautana", where as a social-penalty, (mostly in accidental death-cases), heavy cash-fine is imposed on the culprit/s in favor of family of victim and his community. Before any auspecious event, people do organize Gangoj, Ratri-Jagarnaa and also obtain a Paatee (clearance) from 'Devra'- a temple of local God/s.
The prominent language of this region is Hindi
, however, "Kanthhalee-Bolee" composed of words from Malwi, Mewari and Vagdee (local dilects) is commonly spoken in villages.
Amongst the local Hindi
writers that Pratapgarh has produced, 'Pardeshi
' (1923–1977) (Real Name : Mannalal Sharma) was a well known literary figure. 'Pardeshi' indeed was a prolific writer with a contribution of 15 novels, 16 poetry-collections, 8 books for children, 5 story-collections, 3 dramas, and 14 translated books in Hindi
. A small public-park, in his memory has been built at Pratapgarh by the local Municipality
.
Although the local tribals make different bamboo
handicraft
s for themselves, the most notable craft evolved by traditional goldsmith
s (Raj-sonis) of Pratapgarh is precious jewelry Thewa
which is in great demand amongst modern ladies in India and abroad.
'and Dainik Navajyoti
.
Dainik Bhaskar
, Dainik Navajyoti
, and 'Rajasthan Patrika
' are publishing regular featured material on Pratapgarh highlighting its daily news.
One local amateur historian Mr. Madan Vaishnav has done a commendable job by bringing into light lesser known historical sites of the district by writing valuable series-articles in local newspapers and magazines. Similarly local journalist Anupam Pardesi is also raising a voice regularly on electronic media for 'effective protection and conservation' of ignored historical sites in Pratapgarh.
A local news channel “Raj News” has also started functioning since April 2011. Local representatives of channels like E TV
, TV99, Sahara
, HBC and Doordarshan
are highlighting Pratapgarh news on their electronic news channels.
An Information Centre or media centre (Soochna Kendra) (with an initial cost of 70 lakhs) has been got sanctioned by Government of Rajasthan that shall have all inhouse necessary facilities for journalists and mediamen.
Pratapgarh district (Rajasthan) has a population
of 868,231, roughly equal to the nation of Qatar
or the US state of Delaware
. This gives it a ranking of 472nd in India (out of a total of 640
). The district has a population density of 211 PD/sqkm . Its population growth rate
over the decade 2001-2011 was 22.84 %. Pratapgarh has a sex ratio
of 982 females
for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate
of 56.3 %.
The population
of Pratapgarh in 1881 AD was 79,568; whereas it was 1,10,530 in 1951.
, barley
, maize
, groundnuts, soya beans, gram
, mustard
, and some pulse
s.
Opium
is also a major crop of Pratapgarh. There are 6,781 license holder-farmers in the district cultivating opium. The production of opium in 2011 in Pratapgarh district was 15,85,373.410 kg precisely as per statistics of District Opium Officer, Pratapgarh, Narcotics Bureau, Government of India
.
, located in Anooppura village of Pratapgarh Tehsil, 32 km from Dhariawad
and 35 km from district headquarters. This dam
was built on the Jakham river, which originates from a small village
Jakhamia in chhoti sadree subdivision
. The Jakham dam's foundation was laid on 14 May 1968 by chief minister
Mohan Lal Sukhadia
, however, the actual construction-work of the dam started in 1969-70. The dam itself was completed in 1986, but took another twelve years for the completion of this irrigation
project in March 2000. Initially the catchment
of the Jakham Dam was 5,015 MCft for irrigating 52,354 hectare
s of land. Out of its total water retention capacity of 5,015 MC ft, the usable water capacity is 4,671 MC ft. The cost of this project is 106.03 crore. The length of this Dam is 253 meters, out of which spillway
is in 90 m in length. The area around the dam is hilly and rugged but interesting. 13 km away from the main dam, Nangaliya pick up ware has been constructed with Left main canal
(39.90 km) and right main canal(34.12 km). Irrigation facility is being provided in 118 villages in Dhariawad
sub-division.
, Maize
, Soya bean and opium
.
Agriculture is practised both in the valleys and on the tableland on the hilltop
s. Common lands account for 40% of the total geographical area, nearly 30 % of the comman lands fall in the forest land category. The area is a schedule V area, predominantly inhabitaed by the tribal communities.
Meena
s are the most numerous comprising about 55% of the entire population. Average landholdings are small and canal irrigation facilities are limited only to Dahriyawad and Peepal Khoont tehsils, therefore agriculture is mostly rain-fed. Besides farming, the tribal communities depend upon the forests for their food, fodder and fuel (wood requirements). Many of the members of tribal communities do migrate to nearby towns in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh
to find a job as farm-labourers or construction workers!
The production of wheat in 2009–10 was 1,90,585 MT in the district, of Maize it was 1,28,984 MT followed by Soya bean as 1,69,133, Mustered as 8,296 MT. Small quantity of Rice-production (989 MT) was also recorded.
or the Parliament
was 3. Dr. Ms. Girija Vyas
represents Pratapgarh in Parliament
currently.
Members of the Legislative Assembly
are Nandlal Meena (Bhartiya Janata Party) (Pratapgarh), Udailal Anjna (Chittaurgarh-Chhoti Sadree-Indian National Congress-) Nanalal Ninama (Banswada-Peepal Khoont-Indian National Congress)), Nagraj Meena Dhariawad (ST)(Indian National Congress), Prakash Chaudhry (Badi Sadri-Pratapgarh-(Indian National Congress). Out of these five MLAs directly elected from the district are from Dhariyawad and Pratapgarh constituencies.
The duly elected Zila Parishad (2010) headed by Badri Lal Patidar consists of 17 members, whereas the Pratapgarh Municipality
(Chairman-Kamlesh Doshi) has 25 and Chhoti Sadri (Chairman-Shyam sundar Agarwal) has 20 elected members (2010).
There are 152 gram panchayat
s (GPs) in Pratapgarh with 1630 elected members in all. Pratapgarh Block has 42 GPs, with 21 members in Panchayat Samiti
(PS), 28 GPs in Arnod Block with 15 members in PS, 24 GPs in Chhoti Sadri with 15 PS members, 31 GPs in Dhariyawad Block with 17 members in PS; and 27 GPs in Peepalkhoont Block with 15 members of the PS.
New elections for class 'A' Krishi Upaj Mandi of Pratapgarh have taken place( August 2011).
, Gujarat & Madhya Pradesh
by road . Daily Bus
Services connect Pratapgarh with Chittaurgarh (110 KM ), Banswara
(80 KM), Udaipur
(165 KM), Dungarpur
(95 KM), Rajsamand
(200 KM), Jodhpur
(435 KM), Jaipur
(421 KM) Neemach (62 km ) Ratlam
(85 KM), Mandsaur
(32 KM) and Delhi
(705 KM) and many other cities in Rajasthan. Private Bus operators are also providing regular connectivity to Pratapgarh from nearby places.
The total length of roads in the district is 1879 km, with more than 7,500 registered light and heavy vehicles.
It is the only district without rail
-connectivity in Rajasthan state. However, as a result of untiring efforts by ex-district collector Hemant Shesh
, the Government of Rajasthan
agreed to pursue vigorously with Ministry of Railways
, Government of India
to connect Pratapgarh with broad-gauge from Mandsaur
(32 km), for which appropriate financial contribution to GOI may also be made by the state, if required. It is therefore, presumed that a new railway track ultimately shall be laid from Mandsaur to Pratapgarh, as publicly assured and announced by Shri Ashok Gahlot, the chief minister of Rajasthan on 18 May 2011 at Pratapgarh.
Due to Pratapgarh's strategic location, the Airport Authority of India has installed a VOR station
in Pratapgarh on Dariyawad Road for guiding high altitude jet aircraft
s. (It is said that Pratapgarh is at the midpoint of the Delhi-Mumbai Air Route.
An airstrip has been approved by the Government of Rajasthan in April 2011 to be constructed in Varmandal village (13 km from Pratapgarh). Temporary helipad
s are in operation at 4 places in Pratapgarh, Dhariyawad, Peepalkhoont and Chhoti Sadri.
hospitals and dispensaries, 23 PHCs (Primary Health Centres), 2 allopathic dispensaries and 153 Sub-centers in Pratapgarh. Ambulance
on call “Emergency 108–service” is available in Pratapgarh, Dhariyawad, Arnod, Peepalkhoont and Chhoti Sadri with nine such equipped vans. An inbuilt multi-facility Mobile Medical Unit (MMU) has also been added to Pratapgarh Civil Hospital to cater to the medical needs of far-off villages in June 2011.
s at Pratapgarh, Katchahri-Pratapgarh, Arnod, Dalot, Rathanjana, Dhariyawad, Chhoti Sadri, Peepalkhoont, Dhamotar and Bambori (Branch offices).
There are 26 Commercial Bank
s, 12 Regional Rural Banks, 4 Cooperative sector Banks, and 2 Land Development Banks. The number of ATM
s available in Pratapgarh district is 11, out of which 8 are in the town, while one each is at chhoti sadri, Arnod and Dhariyawad.
Telecommunication
services are being run only by BSNL (evdo) for 13,502 consumers (9,492 Rural and 4,010 Urban consumers in 2010–11,), but Airtel, Aircell
, Vodafone
, Idea
, Tata Indicom
and Reliance
Communication
companies are providing 'pre-paid' facilities to other mobile phone
users. There are three private cable operators in the city: 'Pratap', 'Chetak' and 'Raj'.
in Pratapgarh has risen radically since the late 1990s, however 20,986 children of 6–14 age group were to be linked with school education under sarva shiksha abhiyan(July 2011). The first (so called) English-medium middle school Burhani Baage Naunihal School was opened in 1986. Since then many private educational institutes have come up including St. Paul's (English medium) School in 1989. Educational services are available for primary (up to 5th class), middle (up to 8th class), secondary (up to 10th class), higher secondary (up to 12th class) and graduation (Bachelor's Degree). There are 1453 Government schools in the district: 929 Primary, 325 Middle, 154 Secondary and 45 Senior Secondary Schools, 3 colleges for general education, 4 colleges for vocational education
and 6 it is for boys and girls. One private Engineering
college
named as “Regional Engineering college” located at Dhamottar village and a public sector
Industrial training institute
in the town are offering technical courses. There is also a Government polytechnic college offering technical diploma. With the initiative of the ex-district collector, a new graduate Girls' Collge in Public–private partnership mode (PPP mode) is underway in the town like a new Industrial training institute(ITI) in Peepal Khoont. The nearest University is Mohan Lal Sukhadia University at Udaipur
, to which, most of the local colleges, including the Government College are affiliated.
and 7 in urban
areas for supply of LPG, Petrol and Diesel with additional 4 barrel points. There are no malls or big departmental stores in the town as yet. Opening of new FPSs in rural and urban areas is underway(2011).
As indicated above, Since the early times the north-west part of this region had dense forests consisting of valuable Sagwaan, Chandan, Sheesham, Saalar, Dhaak, Dhonk, Kadamb, Mahua, Babool, Imlee and Baans trees in abundance and therefore in 1828 AD, a separate state forest department was created to manage state's exceptionally rich forest wealth.
The thickly wooded Sita Mata Wildlife Sanctuary
sprawls over the Aravali ranges and the Malwa plateau
, with three seasonal rivers flowing through the forest
. Located about 45 km from Pratapgarh and 108 km from the divisional Hqrs. Udaipur, the sanctuary, covering 423 km2. of mainly dry deciduous
vegetation
has exceptionally rich flora and fauna. It is the only forest region, where more than half the trees are high building value teak
. Salar (Boswellia Serrata Rox. ex coleb) , Tendu (Diospyros melonoxy Roxb.), Bad (Ficus bengalensis), Peepal (Ficus Religiosa Linn.), Neem (Azadiracta Indica), Siras, Churail, Kachnar, Gulmohar, Amaltas, Bakayan, Ashok, Mahua, Semal, Goondi, Khejadi, Amla, bamboo, Sindoor, chironjee, Rudraksha and Bel trees are also found in abundance.
Two new bird varieties for the first time in Rajasthan were noticed in Sita Mata WL sanctuary about five years ago, they are- White-thorated Ground thrush and Black-necked Monarch.
On the initiative of the earlier District Collector
& District Magistrate Hemant Shesh
, the Botany Department of the Mohan Lal Sukhadia University, Udaipur has agreed to undertake further various research
projects to study in details its rich and varied flora and fauna. Although a tentative checklist of flora and fauna available in the sanctuary has been made by the department of forest, the place offers infinite scope of indepth research in this field.
The most striking animal of Sita Mata sanctuary is the vegetarian mammal
flying squirrel
('Petaurista-philippensis'), which can be seen gliding
from one tree to another just around sunset.
The Sanctuary provides rich pastures for a variety of deer
that includes the Chousingha (four-horned antelope
). Caracal, wild boar, pangolin
, leopard
, hyena
, jackal
, fox
, jungle cat
, porcupine
, spotted deer, wild bear, and neelgai are other animals found here. As per the wild life census conducted on 17 May 2011, the number of wild life animals in the centuary was 1711 (inclusive of 10 leopard
s,538 Jackal
s, 38 hyena
s,39 fox
es, 117 jungle cat
s etc.)
The best time to visit Sitamata Sanctuary is between October and February. It also houses ancient Valmiki
Ashram- the birth place of Luv
and Kush
(the twins born to Sita
and Lord Rama), Hanuman
and Sitamata temple
s and other places of historical and mythological importance.
Another significant place of interest in the Sanctuary 5 km from 'Tikhi Magri' is 'Lakhiya Bhata'- where series of prehistoric animals are engraved on rocks.
Serious efforts have been made by ex-collector Hemant Shesh
to get this lovely sanctuary declared as the national park
.
NIC is a part of the Indian Ministry of Communications
& Information Technology
headquartered in New Delhi. It has offices in all 28 state capitals, 7 union-territory headquarters and at all district headquarters. To cater to the ICT needs at the grassroots level, the NIC has also opened offices at almost all district collectorates of the country.
NIC unit at Pratapgarh:
District Pratapgarh is actively making use of computer technology as a decision support system. The NIC Computer Centre at Pratapgarh was set up in August, 2008, to introduce and promote the informatics culture and to create the computer awareness among the masses and government organizations in particular. It provides the facilities of using NICNET and electronic mail. In close cooperation with the district administration, the NIC unit has launched many programmes for computerization in different sectors and is also regularly conducting short-term training courses on the computer related subjects .
1. Assembly / Parliamentary Election: NIC district centre is providing all types of assistance to District Election Officer during Assembly/Parliamentary elections. List of all polling stations, staff working in District, Transport plan with various details have been computerized. Duties of Presiding/Polling officers, Zonal/Sector Magistrates to be assigned to officers/officials during election are the sole responsibility of NIC. Software with randomization technique have been prepared and is being used for assigning various election duties.
2. Land Record Computerisation: LRC focus of work has now shifted to mutation, updating, issuing of record of rights (“Khata nakal”) to land holders, yearly rotational Jamabandies. Entire work is being done at all tehsils HQs. with timely support in respect of software and hardware troubleshootings.
3. TCS (Treasury): To prepare monthly payment schedule. The role of Treasury is to control the budget of various offices / departments. The offices are getting payment through Government Bank.
4. Sub-Treasury: Technical support and services was given to all 5 sub-treasury offices of Pratapgarh district. Data Supplied from sub-treasury is merged and consolidated and soft copy is regularly being prepared for onward transmission to the State Govt.
5. Data Depository System (DDS): Monthly payroll data was checked and validated on Linux clients in treasury for this purpose.
6. Old Age Pension: Data of all 5 tehsils has been fed for generating the automated money orders to the beneficiaries. ATO (Pension) is releasing on-line payment to pensioners.
7. Paybill Software: has been developed to prepare monthly salary bills, payinner, payouter and different reports. More than 65 DDOs are using this software and 200 DDOs are receiving the text data from Computer service providers every month.
8. Public Greviances System : The s/w was redesigned and tailormade programs were developed according to the need of the district administration.
9. SUGAM, Single Window System: SUGAM S/w has been implemented at all 5 Tehsils & District headquarter. The reports generated are – Domicile certificates, Caste certificates, Income tax certificates etc.
10. Video-Conferencing: 80 Successful sessions of Video Conferencing were held up to 30 June 2011 between officials of district with other officials outside the district.
11. Support Services: As directed by the HQ / State-Unit different offices in the district were periodically visited for resolving their e-problems.
12. Comman Service Centre: Under the CSC project initiated by DOIT, 40 Kiosks have been identified so far. 28 Comman Service Centres are delivering G-2-C services at present.
13. Sugamrpg (PGS Portal): It is an effective portal to deal with online public grivencences.
14. e-mitra: Two kiosks are providing services in urban areas of Pratapgarh town.
(Hemant Shesh 11:01, 25 June 2011 (UTC)
Udaipur Division
Udaipur Division is one of the administrative geographical unit, called a division, of Rajasthan state, India. The division comprises six districts, namely, Banswara, Chittorgarh, Dungarpur, Rajsamand, Udaipur and Pratapgarh, Rajasthan....
and has been carved out from the erstwhile tehsils of Chittorgarh
Chittorgarh district
Chittorgarh District is a district of Rajasthan state in western India. The historic city of Chittorgarh is the administrative headquarters of the district....
, Udaipur
Udaipur district
Udaipur District is one of the 33 districts of Rajasthan state in western India. The historic city of Udaipur is the administrative headquarters of the district....
and Banswara
Banswara district
Banswara District has an area of 5,037 km², 1.47% of Rajasthan state, India. The city of Banswara is the district headquarters. It is bounded on the north by Udaipur District, on the northeast by Chittorgarh District, on the east and southeast by Madhya Pradesh state, on the southwest by...
districts. Pratapgarh
Pratapgarh, Rajasthan
Pratapgarh, is a town in Rajasthan, India. It is the district headquarters of Pratapgarh district the newest District of Rajasthan. Famous for its Thewa art, the town is surrounded by tribal villages.- History :...
town (Pin Code 312605, STD Code 01478) is the administrative headquarters of the district.
As of 2011 it is the second least populous district of Rajasthan (out of 33
Districts of Rajasthan
The Indian state of Rajasthan is divided into 33 districts for administrative purposes. The responsibilities of district management are carried out by a number of All-India officials and a number of state-appointed officials...
), after Jaisalmer
Jaisalmer district
Jaisalmer District is a district of Rajasthan state in western India. The city of Jaisalmer is the administrative headquarters of the district.As of 2011 it is the least populous district of Rajasthan .-Geography:...
.
History
SisodiaSisodia
The Sisodia are Chattari Rajputs of the Suryavanshi lineage who ruled the kingdom of Mewar in Rajasthan. Prior to Rana Hamir the clan was known as Gehlot or Guhilot. In 1303 CE Alla-ud-din Khilji attacked Chittor...
clan is amongst the ancient royal families in India. This family ruled Mewar
Mewar
Mewar is a region of south-central Rajasthan state in western India. It includes the present-day districts of Pratapgarh, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Dungarpur, Banswara and some of the part of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The region was for centuries a Rajput kingdom that later...
for more than eight hundred years. The famous Rajput
Rajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...
s- Maharana Sangram Singh (also known as Rana Sanga
Rana Sanga
-Historical Fact:Maharana Sangram Singh was the ruler of Mewar state, a region lying within the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan, a desert region, between 1509 and 1527. He was a scion of the Sisodia clan of Suryavanshi Rajputs...
), Maharana Kumbha and Maharana Pratap (May 9, 1540 – January 19, 1597) all belonged to this family. The rulers of 'Partabgadh-Raj' were descendants of Sisodia clan of Mewar Rajputs.
Maharana Kumbha (1433–1468) was the ruler of Chittaurgarh state in 14th century. Legend has it that due to some family dispute on property issues with his cousin Kshem Singh alias Kshemkarna (1437–1473), angry King Kumbha expelled him from his territory. Kshemkarn's family was refugee for some time and lived in the Aravali ranges in the southern most part of Mewar regime. In 1514, Kshemkarn’s son Prince Surajmal (1473–1530) became the ruler of Devalia. Surajmal established his capital of ‘Kanthal-Desh’ at Dewaliya, (also called Devgarh), a small town about 10 km in the west from present Pratapgarh town, where old temples,cenotaphs, a historical palace and other ruins of bygone Partabgarh regime still can be seen. Thus, historically, Pratapgarh has been an integral part of Mewar Rulers of Udaipur.
Etymology
The name of Pratpgarh is after Maharawat Pratap Singh and not Maharana Pratap, as commanly mistaken!
It is said that 'as the climate
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
of Devgarh was not found to be suitable by the royal family', one of the descendants of Surajmal, Maharawat Pratap Singh of 10th generation (1673–1708) started to build a new town ahed of native village Devgarh in 1689–1699 and later named it as Partabgarh, with a fortwall around his new palace and small township with eight entry gates. At that time, the area of Pratapgarh was reported to be about 889 squre miles, whereas Dhariyawad, another small town near Pratapgarh, was founded by Rana Sahasmal, the grandson of legendary Maharana Pratap in the mid 15th century.
Family tree
The successive rulers of Pratapgarh after Kshemkarna (1437–1473) were Soorajmal (1473–1530) Bagh Singh (1530–1535), Rai Singh (1535–1552), Vikram Singh (1552–1563), Tej Singh (1563–1593), Bhanu Singh (1593–1597), Singha (1597–1628), Jaswant Singh (1628) Hari Singh (1628–1673), Maharawat Pratap Singh (1673–1708), Prithwi Singh (1708–1718), Sangram Singh (1718–1719), Ummed Singh (1719–1721), Gopal Singh (1721–1756), Saalim Singh (1756–1774), Saamant Singh (1774–1844), Dalpat singh (1844–1864), Uday Singh (1864–1890), Raghunath Singh (1890–1929), Sir Ram Singh(1929–1940) and Ambika Pratap Singh (1940–1948) who lives in Pune after leaving his native place.Foundation
During the regime of Pratap Singh the actual work of establishing a small townTown
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
at viilage 'Doderiya-ka-Kheda', started in 1699 AD. It was he, who developed the main market (Sadar Bazar) first of all. A detailed and proper planning was done before starting the construction-work. As per the plans, it was decided to build 3 main Markets, 52 Streets, some Hindu temples, etc. in the first instance.
As Pratapgarh started developing, the old capital of Devgarh started getting neglected. The royal palace
Palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the...
of Devgarh wore a deserted look and started getting gradually deteriorated. One of successors of Pratap singh, Gopal Singh took over the reins of the partabgarh-raj in 1721. He developed the 'Gopalgunj Mohalla' during his regime. His son Saalim Singh continued the construction work further and developed the 'Saalampura-Mohalla' and founded a new village called 'Saalamgarh' little away from the main town. It was during his rule that Pratapgarh was cordoned off by building up city's fort-walls on all the sides. There were 8 gates of entry provided during that time. Bigger gates were named as 'Sooraj-pole', 'Bhatpura-Baaree', 'Dewaliya-Darwaazaa' and 'Dhamottar-Darwaazaa'. The smaller ones were called 'Taalab Baaree' and 'Qilaa Baaree'. All of these were manned by armed security guards during the day and were closed in the night. Tukoji, the chief of Army of Malhar Rao Holkar
Malhar Rao Holkar
Malhar Rao Holkar was a noble of the Maratha Empire, in present day India. Malhar Rao is particularly known for being the first Maratha Subhedar of Malwa in Central India. Born in a Dhangar family he was the first prince from the Holkar family which ruled the state of Indore...
made an attack on Pratapgarh in 1761, but could not succeed to overpower it, nor could he get any ransom.
History of Pratapgarh in Mughal and British era-
Pratapgarh remained to a large extent unaffected during the Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
era. At that time the state of Pratapgarh used to pay a ransom of Rs. 15,000 annually to the Delhi-rulers. Saalim Singh obtained written permission from the then Mughal king Shah Alam II
Shah Alam II
Shah Alam II , also known as Ali Gauhar, was a Mughal emperor of India. A son of Alamgir II, he was exiled to Allahabad in December 1759 by Ghazi-ud-Din, who appointed Shah Jahan III as the emperor. Later, he was nominated as the emperor by Ahmad Shah.Shah Alam II was considered the only and...
to introduce a local currency for his state and named it as Saalimshahi-Sikka (coin), which was made in a local mint
MiNT
MiNT is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST and its successors. Together with the free system components fVDI , XaAES , and TeraDesk , MiNT provides a free TOS compatible replacement OS that is capable of multitasking.MiNT was originally released by Eric Smith as...
-(Partabgarh-Taksal). In 1763, Malhar Rao Holkar
Malhar Rao Holkar
Malhar Rao Holkar was a noble of the Maratha Empire, in present day India. Malhar Rao is particularly known for being the first Maratha Subhedar of Malwa in Central India. Born in a Dhangar family he was the first prince from the Holkar family which ruled the state of Indore...
(16 March 1693 – 20 May 1766), while proceeding towards Udaipur
Udaipur
Udaipur , also known as the City of Lakes, is a city, a Municipal Council and the administrative headquarters of the Udaipur district in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It is located southwest of the state capital, Jaipur, west of Kota, and northeast from Ahmedabad...
, extorted some amount from Saalim Singh, who later also sent his troops to assist Ari Singh, the ruler of Mewar, when some local 'Sardaars' revolted against him in 1768.
During the regime of Saamant Singh, (the elder son of Saalim Singh), Marathas continued to harass Pratapgarh-state and Saamant Singh had no option but to agree to pay a sum of Rs. 72,720/- annually as "Khiraj" to keep the Maratha-invadors away.
However, to save the state from the regular extortion by Holkers, Saamant Singh entered into an agreement with the English Government in 1804 'to pay the same amount of "Khiraj"(खिराज) to the Britishers' instead. But due to new political policies of Lord Cornwallis, this treaty could not sustain for long, resulting into taking over the state of Pratapgarh into the direct control of British rulers.
Saamant Singh handed over the administration to his eldest son Deep Singh, just after the English treaty in 1804, who administered the state in the initial stage more or less satisfactorily, but rebellions against him soon started raising their heads. He got assisinated some persons, who were antagonistic to him and his 'policies'. Displeased by his deed, the British Government asked him to leave Pratapgarh forever to stay in village Devalia for rest of his life, but Deep Singh did not like this 'seclusion'. After some time when he returned back from the confinment to Pratapgarh defying the orders of British, an English army-troop defeated him in a battle and imprisoned him in Achnera-(H.Q. Arnod), where he breathed his last in 1826.
The period of Raja Gopal Singh, between 1827 and 1864 was an epoch of turmoil and polititical instability in Pratapgarh.
Since the early times the major area, especially the north-western part of this region had very dense forests, a separate state forest department in 1828, was created to manage state's exceptionally rich forest-wealth.
In 1865 Uday Singh became the Raja, who introduced some reforms, established civil courts, started relief works during the notorious Great Famine of 1876–78
Great Famine of 1876–78
The Great Famine of 1876–1878 was a famine in India that began in 1876 and affected south and southwestern India for a period of two years...
, opened fair price shops for the citizens and also exempted certain civilian taxes. Uday Singh built a new palace in Pratapgarh for himself in the year 1867 AD more or less on the lines of those built by the Britishers and started living there (see picture).
He then started getting involved in the development of Pratapgarh regularly. Uday Singh opened the first Ayurvedic dispensary in Pratapgarh in 1867 AD where conventional medical treatment was given to patients. Thereafter some Pathshallas (schools) were opened in 1875 AD to provide free education all over the state.
He passed away in 1890 without having a son of his own, therefore, his widow adopted one of her first cousins- Raghunath Singh of Arnod 'Thikana' to be accepted as their legal heir. Finally in 1891 Raghunath Singh was accepted as the Raja by the British.
The state Police was reconstituted, and certain Land reforms especially settlement came into being in 'Khalsa villages' during Raghunath Singh's regime. It was in his tenure in that the 'English currency' was accepted as 'state currency'. The process of modernisation thus began.
A Municipal Committee was formed in 1893 AD in the capital-town during the regime of Raghunath Singh. During this period the Mandsaur-Pratapgarh road was also constructed connecting Central Province
Central Province
Central Province may refer to:*Central Province *Central Province *Central Province *Central Province, Sri Lanka*Central Province, Zambia*Centre Province, Cameroon...
with Rajputana
Rajputana
Rājputāna was the pre-1949 name of the present-day Indian state of Rājasthān, the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area. George Thomas was the first in 1800 A.D., to term this region as Rajputana...
. A separate customs department was established. New post offices were opened, administrative departments were reorganized. Slowly the legal-machinery started getting developed and three levels of courts- The Deewani Court, The Zila Court and The High Court started functioning from Pratapgarh. After Small 'thikanas' and 'Jagirdars' were also given certain legal powers, Judiciary
Judiciary
The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
was separated from 'Mahakma-Khaas'. The Zila Court had powers up to proclaiming the capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
or expelling a person outside the territory "(Shahar-badar-Sazaa)". However, such a 'harsh punishment' required ratification from (the then) 'Maharaja-Saab'.
After Maharawat Raghunath Singh retired, his son (Sir) Ram Singh became the king and during his tenure, new reforms were introduced in Agriculture, Education, Medical and local-self-government sectors. A High Court
High Court
The term High Court usually refers to the superior court of a country or state. In some countries, it is the highest court . In others, it is positioned lower in the hierarchy of courts The term High Court usually refers to the superior court (or supreme court) of a country or state. In some...
was also established during this period. Welfare measures like Insurance-scheme, retirement-benefits etc. for the state employees were undertaken. Praja Mandal activities also got a boost. He also received a title of "Sir" from the British Government.
The development continued and by 1900, Patapgarh had a school up to Middle level (8th Standard). This was an achievement for a small town because during that time the bigger towns around like Mandsaur, Neemach, Javra, Chhoti Sadri, Badi Sadri, Nimbahera, and even chittorgarh did not have any high schools or organised hospitals. The hospital of Pratapgarh was cosidered to be the biggest one in the area. It had two wards- one for Males (45 beds) and another for females (30 beds capacity). It had all the facilities for surgery too. Because of the avalable amenities, it was nominated as 'Zila Hospital', which also housed the offices of District Medical and Health Officer of the area.
Pratapgarh – an anciant land
Just after the independence of India in 1947, Pratapgarh remained as an independent district between 1948 and 1952, however, due to reconstitution of district boundaries, Pratapgarh became part of the NimbaheraNimbahera
Nimbahera is a city and a municipality in Chittorgarh district in the Indian state of Rajasthan.-Geography:Nimbahera is located at . It has an average elevation of 437 metres . Nimbahera has a population of approximately 278512 people....
district and then of Chittaurgarh. Mrs. Vasundhara Raje
Vasundhara Raje
Vasundhara Raje was the Chief Minister of Rajasthan state of India from December 2003 till December 2008. She is the first woman Chief Minister of Rajasthan.- Early life :...
, the then Chief Minister of Rajasthan, announced Pratapgarh to be an independent district in 2008.
Well known for pure gold and glass-inlay handmade unique jewelry called "Thewa
Thewa
Thewa is a special art of jewelry making which involves embossing of intricately worked out sheet gold on molten glass evovled Pratapgarh district India. Its origin dates back to the mughal age.-Process:...
", Pratapgarh, as the 33rd district of Rajasthan, came into existence on 26 January 2008, comprising five Tehsils/ sub-divisions, Pratapgarh, Chhotee Sadri, Dhariyawad, Arnod and Peepalkhoont.
The district is dotted with good number of ancient and historical sites, but in want of a detailed study either by the archaeological survey of india
Archaeological Survey of India
The Archaeological Survey of India is a department of the Government of India, attached to the Ministry of Culture . The ASI is responsible for archaeological studies and the preservation of archaeological heritage of the country in accordance with the various acts of the Indian Parliament...
or by The Department of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Rajasthan
Government of Rajasthan
The Government of Rajasthan also known as the State Government of Rajasthan, or locally as State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Rajasthan and its 33 districts...
, there are no 'protected monuments' as such. A few important still unexplored archaeological and historical sites include Avleshwara, Ghotaavarshika (Ghotarsi), Sidheriya, Gandharvpur (Gandher) Jaanagarh, Veerpur and many others. Sita Mata sanctuary houses pre-historic rock engravings.
Creation
People of Pratapgarh were demanding to make it an independent districtDistrict
Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...
separate from Chittorgarh district
Chittorgarh district
Chittorgarh District is a district of Rajasthan state in western India. The historic city of Chittorgarh is the administrative headquarters of the district....
, of which it was a part. The Government of Rajasthan
Government of Rajasthan
The Government of Rajasthan also known as the State Government of Rajasthan, or locally as State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Rajasthan and its 33 districts...
declared on 6 July 2006 its intention to create Pratapgarh as a separate district. The process of officially declaring Pratapgarh as a new district took some time. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje
Vasundhara Raje
Vasundhara Raje was the Chief Minister of Rajasthan state of India from December 2003 till December 2008. She is the first woman Chief Minister of Rajasthan.- Early life :...
declared Praratapgarh as 33rd district of Rajasthan on 8 March 2007 in legislative assembly
Legislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its branch.The name is used by a number of member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of Latin American countries....
's budget session. Pratapgarh, Arnod and Chhoti Sadri tehsils from chittaurgarh district, Peepal Khoont from Banswada district and Dhariyawad from Udaipur district were unified togather to form this new district.
As Pratapgarh already had some district offices (a district session court (since 1944), district hospital, district jail
Jail
A jail is a short-term detention facility in the United States and Canada.Jail may also refer to:In entertainment:*Jail , a 1966 Malayalam movie*Jail , a 2009 Bollywood movie...
etc.) and also a different vehicle registration code than Chittaurgarh, this was an apt decision. Significant progress in all spheres of economic-socio-cultural life is noticiable after 2008. However, much is to done in creating essential infra-structural facilities and overall literacy.
Geography
LocationPratapgarh is located at 24.03° N 74.78° E with an average elevation of 580 meters (1610 feet above MSL). It is said to be the second highest place (?) in Rajasthan after Mount Abu. Situated on the junction of the Aravali mountain ranges and the Malwa Plateau its unique location prominently carries the geological characteristics of these both.
Area
The geographical area of Pratapgarh is 4,11,736 hectares, out of which forest area is 1,20,976 hectares (2009-'10).
Climate, Soil, Topography and Minrels
The average annual rainfall is 856 mm. The soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
is mainly highly fertile Black Cotton Soil made of magma
Magma
Magma is a mixture of molten rock, volatiles and solids that is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and is expected to exist on other terrestrial planets. Besides molten rock, magma may also contain suspended crystals and dissolved gas and sometimes also gas bubbles. Magma often collects in...
of volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
s. The major rivers of the district are Jakham, Mahi, and Siwana or shiv. Other seasonal rivers are Som, Era, and Karmoi. Out of five, four sub divisions except Chhoti Sadri, are notified forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
blocks, where no major industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
or mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
activity is allowed under law. However, in non-forest regions of Chhoti Sadri (and part of Pratapgarh and Dhariyawad), small scale mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
activities are in operation extracting mainly red ochre, calcite
Calcite
Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate . The other polymorphs are the minerals aragonite and vaterite. Aragonite will change to calcite at 380-470°C, and vaterite is even less stable.-Properties:...
, dolomite
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
, quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
, feldspar
Feldspar
Feldspars are a group of rock-forming tectosilicate minerals which make up as much as 60% of the Earth's crust....
and soapstone
Soapstone
Soapstone is a metamorphic rock, a talc-schist. It is largely composed of the mineral talc and is thus rich in magnesium. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occurs in the areas where tectonic plates are subducted, changing rocks by heat and pressure, with influx...
. Marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
, Building-stone and Limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
are also available in small quantities.
Divisions
Pratapgarh district comprises 5 sub-divisions, ArnodArnod
A small, but ancient town in Pratapgarh district of Rajasthan state in IndiaArnod, , a tehsil hqtr., is located in its south between 23.88' E and 74.81' N. The total land area of Arnod is 6,4577 hectares with 9491 hectares of reserve forest land. It has been an independent sub-tehsil headquarter...
, Chhoti Sadri
Chhoti Sadri
Chhoti Sadri Chhoti Sadri Chhoti Sadri (Hindi: छोटी सादड़ी is a city and a municipality in Pratapgarh district in the state of Rajasthan, India. It is situated near Neemuch on the Ajmer-Khandwa railway line.This place was famous for a temple of Devi built in the 5th century AD...
, Dhariawad
Dhariawad
Dhariawad is a census town in Pratapgarh district in the state of Rajasthan, India.-Demographics: India census, Dhariawad had a population of 10,494. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Dhariawad has an average literacy rate of 68%, higher than the national average of 59.5%:...
, Peepal Khoont
Peepal Khoont
Peepal Khoont is a small town in Pratapgarh district of Rajasthan state located at Latitude 23.80 E, Longitude,74.56 N.-History:peepal Khoont had been a sub tehsil of Ghatol Tehsil of Banswada before it was declared as a sub division of Pratapgarh, when the district came into...
and Pratapgarh
Pratapgarh, Rajasthan
Pratapgarh, is a town in Rajasthan, India. It is the district headquarters of Pratapgarh district the newest District of Rajasthan. Famous for its Thewa art, the town is surrounded by tribal villages.- History :...
.
The number of revenue villages in Arnod Tehsil is 178, in Choti Saari Tehsil the number is 141, Dariyawad Tehsil is 249 whereas Peepal khoont Tehsil has 23 and in Pratapgarh Tehsil there are 330 revenue villages.
The major villages of Pratapgarh district include Dhamottar, Kulmipura, Sidhhpura, Rathanjana, Dhaula Pani, Devgarh, Salamgarh, Parsola, Ghantali, Arnod, Gandher, Asawsata, Kulthana, Avleshwar, Rajora, Kuni, Mokhampura, Hathunia, Basera, Basad, Varmandal, Bajranggarh, Suhagpura, Rampuriya, Chiklad, Gyaspur, Barawarda, Bardia, Thada, Panmodi, Jhansadi, Gautmeshwara, Dalot, Ghantali, Peepalkhoont, Rajpuriya, Bambori and Bagwas.
The old city of Pratapgarh has many narrow streets and congested houses, but in the last decade, the outer parts of the city have developed rapidly. Since 2008, new civil lines quarters, a full fledged police-line (with 120 residential houses), a modern Collectorate-building, District Stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
and Circuit house have been built, in addition to many private and public buildings in and around the town. 10 bighas of land has been earmarked in May 2011 near new collectorate campus for construction of new buildings of Judicial courts.
District Administration
Hemant SheshHemant Shesh
Hemant Shesh is an Indian Hindi writer, poet and civil servant.- Biography :Shesh completed his post graduate education from the University of Rajasthan in Jaipur. He then joined the Rajasthan Administrative Service in 1977...
has been the District Collector
District collector
The District Collector is the district head of administration of the bureaucracy in a state of India. Though he/she is appointed and is under general supervision of the state government, he/she has to be a member of the elite IAS recruited by the Central Government...
of Pratapgarh district from 25/10/2010 to 13/8/2011, Mrs. Teena Soni took over this charge from him on 13/8/2011.
The erlier collectors were Dr. Prithwiraj Sankhla (from 26/01/2008 to 01/01/2009) Bhanu Prakash Yeturu (from 07/01/2009 to 16/04/2010) and Rohit Gupta (From 19/04/2010 to 19/10/2010).
The first phase of the new building of collectorate, built with an approximate cost of Rs.8.85 crores (see picture) was inaugurated and dedicated to the public by shri Ashok Gahlot, the chief minister
Chief Minister
A Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, provinces of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a British Overseas Territory that has attained self-government...
of Rajasthan, on 18 May 2011 in presence of Union surface transport minister Dr. C. P. Joshi
C. P. Joshi
C. P. Joshi is an Indian Politician and Member of Parliament of India from Bhilwara in the 15th Lok Sabha. He was one of the first 19 members of India's new cabinet sworn in on May 22, 2009, despite being a first-time member of the Lok Sabha and he has taken the office of Minister of Rural...
and many other public representatives.
This building shall shortly have a separate wing of SP office and the Zila Parishad added to it, along with a new campus of all district
District
Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...
and subordinate courts of judiciary
Judiciary
The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
.
Police infrastructure
Praveen Kumar Sharma is the present SP.Pratapgarh has 13 police station
Police station
A police station or station house is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, along with locker rooms, temporary holding cells and interview/interrogation rooms.- Facilities...
s at Pratapgarh (city), Chhotee Sadri, Dhariyawad, Arnod, Peepalkhoont, Dhaula Pani, Dhamottar, Rathanjana, Salamgarh, Suhagpura, Devgarh, Hathuniya and 16 Police-chowkis are under them. One District Jail
Jail
A jail is a short-term detention facility in the United States and Canada.Jail may also refer to:In entertainment:*Jail , a 1966 Malayalam movie*Jail , a 2009 Bollywood movie...
is located in Pratapgarh and a sub-jail in Chhoti Sadri, where under trial prisoners are housed.
Crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
2256 cognizable
Cognizable offence
A cognizable offence in the criminal justice system of India is one in which the police is empowered to register an FIR, investigate and arrest an accused involved in cognizable crime without a court warrant....
and 6535 non-cognizable offences under the Indian Penal Code
Indian Penal Code
Indian Penal Code is the main criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code, intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. It was drafted in 1860 and came into force in colonial India during the British Raj in 1862...
and other acts were registered in the year 2010. The alarming trend in crime is extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
and collecting illegal ransom
Ransom
Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.In an early German law, a similar concept was called bad influence...
from businessmen, by organised criminal mafia operating locally as well as from outer cities.
Judiciary
A district and sessions' court was established in Pratapgarh in 1944, followed by the court of Additional Chief Judicial MagistrateMagistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
, (in Chhoti Sadri) in 1980, Junior Judicial Magistrate’s court in 1983, Additional Judicial Magistrate’s court in 1989, Scheduled Castes-Scheduled Tribes Special Trial Court in 1992, Special court for Narcotics Cases in 1994, a District Consumers' Court, two ACJM courts (in Arnod and Dhariyawad) in 2008, and recently a “Rural Court” in 2010. Thirteen revenue courts- those of the Revenue Appeallate Authority (1), Collector & DM (1), Additional Collector & ADM (1), SDMs(5) Tehsidars (5) are also working in the district.
Culture
Rich in natural beauty and an ideal blend of Malwa, MewarMewar
Mewar is a region of south-central Rajasthan state in western India. It includes the present-day districts of Pratapgarh, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Dungarpur, Banswara and some of the part of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The region was for centuries a Rajput kingdom that later...
and Vagad
Vagad
Vagad is a region in southeastern Rajasthan state of western India. The major cities of the region are Dungarpur and Banswara, both princely states in 19th century....
cultures, Pratapgarh known in earlier times as ‘Kanthal
Kanthal
Kanthal is the trademark for a family of iron-chromium-aluminium alloys used in a wide range of resistance and high-temperature applications. Kanthal FeCrAl alloys consist of mainly iron, chromium and aluminium . The first Kanthal FeCrAl alloy was developed by Hans von Kantzow in Hallstahammar,...
’, is surrounded by Udaipur
Udaipur
Udaipur , also known as the City of Lakes, is a city, a Municipal Council and the administrative headquarters of the Udaipur district in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It is located southwest of the state capital, Jaipur, west of Kota, and northeast from Ahmedabad...
, Banswada
Banswada
-Nearby dams:* Nizamsagar Project, on the Manjeera river, located 29 km from Banswada in Nizamsagar Mandal* Koulasanala Project, 40 km from Banswada* Pocharam Project, 45 km from Banswada* Kalyani Project, 36 km from Banswada...
, Chittaurgarh districts of Rajasthan and Neemach and, Mandsaur
Mandsaur
Mandsaur or Mandsour is a city in the Malwa region and district of Madhya Pradesh state of central India. It is the administrative headquarters of Mandsaur District.-Origin of name:...
districts of Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
(MP). The people of this region are more linked with MP for social obligations than other parts of Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, because Neemuch
Neemuch
Neemuch or Nimach is a town in the Malwa region in state of Madhya Pradesh, India. Neemuch shares its north eastern border with state of Rajasthan. It is the administrative headquarters of Neemuch District. Nimach is an abbreviation of "North India Mounted Artillery & Cavalry Headquarters"...
, Mandsaur
Mandsaur
Mandsaur or Mandsour is a city in the Malwa region and district of Madhya Pradesh state of central India. It is the administrative headquarters of Mandsaur District.-Origin of name:...
and Ratlam
Ratlam
Ratlam , known historically as Ratnapuri, is a city in the Malwa region in Madhya Pradesh state of central India. The town of Ratlam lies 480 m above sea level. It is the administrative headquarters of Ratlam District....
districts of MP surround Pratapgarh boundaries in about 60% length.
The district includes habitants of all sects, religions and castes including Bhil
Bhil
Bhils are primarily an Adivasi people of Central India. Bhils are also settled in the Tharparkar District of Sindh, Pakistan. They speak the Bhil languages, a subgroup of the Western Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages....
, Balai
Balai
The Balai, or Balahi are a Hindu caste found in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. They are also known as Mina and have scheduled caste status.- Origin :...
, Bhanti, Dhholi, Patidar
Patidar
The Patidar are a Hindu ethnic group found primarily in the state of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh in India.Patidars are also known as Patel, a common surname with in the community.D. F...
, Rajput
Rajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...
, Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
, Mahajan
Mahajan
Mahajan is an Indian surname or title, found among several castes and communities.The word "Mahajan" is an amalgam of two Sanskrit words: Maha meaning great, and Jan meaning people or individuals...
, Sunar
Sunar
Sunar is a Hindu caste in India and Nepal referring to the community of people who work as goldsmiths...
, Darzi
Darzi
The Darzi are a Muslim community, found in North India and Pakistan. Darzi means tailor in Urdu. A small number are also found in the Terai region of Nepal. They are also known as Idrisi or Idrisi Shaikh.-History and origin:...
, Chamar
Chamar
Chamar |tanner]]"; from the Sanskrit Charmakara) is a prominent occupational caste in India, Pakistan and Nepal. Chamar is a Dalit sub-caste mainly found in the northern states, such as Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi and in Nepal at least north to the Himalayas...
, Luhar, Suthar
Suthar
The Suthar or Sutar is a Hindu caste within the Vishwakarma community of India. They are also found in the province of Sindh in Pakistan . They are also known as Mistry in Saurashtra.-The Origin :...
, Nai
Nai
Nai may refer to:*Nai , a Barber caste in India* Nai language, a language of Papua New Guinea* Nai , an album by singer Anna Vissi*Nai , a wind instrument, also known as the Moldavian pan flute...
, Dhobi
Dhobi
The Dhobi are a caste group found in Pakistan and India who specialize in washing clothes. The word Dhobi is derived from Hindi word dhona, which means to wash. They are found throughout North India, Gujarat, Maharashtra as well as the Punjab province of Pakistan, where they are known as Gazar...
, Koli
KOLI
KOLI is a radio station serving Wichita Falls, Texas and Vicinity with a country music format. It operates on FM frequency 94.9 MHz and is under ownership of Cumulus Media. It is the radio flagship station for the Wichita Falls Wildcats hockey team....
, and above all Mina
Mina
Mina may refer to:* Mina , a given name * Mina , an ancient Near Eastern unit of weight and currency.* Mina, a folk word related with the extraction of mineral resources...
; major occupants are traditional Meena
Meenas
Meenas, Meena, Meenoat or Mina is a caste and community mainly found in Rajasthan, India. The name Mina is derived from Meen,meaning 'fish' in Sanskrit, and the Minas claim descent from the Matsya Avatar, or fish incarnation, of Vishnu.Meenas celebrate Meenesh Jayanti in the name of Vishnu on 3...
tribals, exclusively dependent on agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, animal husbandry
Animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock.- History :Animal husbandry has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals....
and forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
, who have their own culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
, attire, dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
, ritual
Ritual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
s, fairs and festivals. A good number of native Bohra Muslim families are engaged in overseas trading and business in Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
countries.
The major attractions of the district are Sita Mata Wildlife Sanctuary
Sita Mata Wildlife Sanctuary
Sita Mata Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary situated in south-east portion of Pratapgarh district , declared as the protected forest area vide Government of Rajasthan Notification no. F 11 Revenue/8/79 Dated 2.11.1979. Having an area of 422.95 square kilometers, it is a dense forest...
and Jakham Dam
Jakham Dam
Jakham Dam is a dam located in Pratapgarh District in Rajasthan in India. It is located in Anooppura village of Pratapgarh Tehsil, 32 Km from Dhariawad and 35 km from Pratapgarh town. The dam is a main irrigation project of the area....
, however, large number of visitors and pilgrims do visit the old temples at Ambamata Shaktipeethh, Bhanwarmata, Gautameshwara Mahadev Paapmochan Teertha, Sholi Hanuman Temple, Deepeshwar Mandir and many other temples. The magnificent Tomb (Dargah ) of Saiyadi Kaka Saheb is also a popular destination, especially amongst Daudee Bohra community of Muslims, who gather here in large numbers on the occasion of Annual Urs
Urs
Urs is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint in South Asia, usually held at the saint's dargah . South Asian Sufis being mainly Chishtiyya, refer to their saints as lovers and God as beloved...
of Saiyadi Kaka Saheb.
The major fairs of this region are- Ambamata Fair, Sita Mata Fair, Gautameshwara Fair (on 'Vaishak-Poornima') and Bhanwar Mata Fair. Fairs on stipulated dates are also held in small places like Shaulee-Hanumanjee, Gangeshwara-Parsola, Manaa-Gaon, and Gupteshwara Mahadev in and around Pratapgarh.
Although all major Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
festivals like Diwali
Diwali
Diwali or DeepavaliThe name of the festival in various regional languages include:, , , , , , , , , , , , , popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December for different reasons...
, Govardhan Puja
Govardhan Puja
Govardhan Puja, also called Annakut , is celebrated as the day Krishna defeated Indra. Lord Krishna taught people to worship nature, as mountains bring rains to earth and to stop worshiping the God of Rains, Lord Indra. His was the message that we should take care of our nature...
, Holi
Holi
Holi , is a religious spring festival celebrated by Hindus. Holi is also known as festival of Colours. It is primarily observed in India, Nepal, Pakistan, and countries with large Indic diaspora populations following Hinduism, such as Suriname, Malaysia, Guyana, South Africa, Trinidad, United...
, 'Rang-Teras','Raksha Bandhan', 'Mahashivratri', 'Hanuman Jayanti
Hanuman Jayanti
Hanuman Jayanti is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Hanuman, the Vanara god, widely venerated throughout India especially in North India. It is celebrated on the 15th day of the Shukla Paksha, during the month of Chaitra...
' and 'Vijayadashami
Vijayadashami
Vijayadashami also known as Dasara, is one of the most important festivals celebrated in various forms, across India, Nepal and Bangladesh...
' etc. are celebrated in Pratapgarh, yet 'Sharad Navratri' and 'Vasant Navratri' both are also celebrated in the city with fun and floric. "Doondhotsava" is celebrated on Holi. The people of city do not celebrate "Dhulendi' on the following day after Holi, as done all over India, but color holi is celebrated thireen days after on the hindu day of "Rang Teras". 'Gair'-Dancers can be seen all over the villages during 'Dashaamaataa' festival. A procession of folk-God Baba Ramdevji
Baba Ramdevji
Baba Ramdevji is a folk–deity of Rajasthan in India. He was a saint of the fourteenth century who devoted his life for the upliftment of downtrodden and poor people of the society, which were marginalized by Invaders. A temple was built around Ramdevji's final resting place by Maharaja Ganga...
is a regular feature on 'Bhag-Dashmee Teej'. 'Sheetalaa Saptmee' is also observed in the district, when only "Makki-Dhoklas" (cooked before a day prior to the festival) are consumed. Some tribals have a tradition of 'second marriage' as an approved social-custom.
Like many other places in the region, the most prominent custom is "Mautana", where as a social-penalty, (mostly in accidental death-cases), heavy cash-fine is imposed on the culprit/s in favor of family of victim and his community. Before any auspecious event, people do organize Gangoj, Ratri-Jagarnaa and also obtain a Paatee (clearance) from 'Devra'- a temple of local God/s.
The prominent language of this region is Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
, however, "Kanthhalee-Bolee" composed of words from Malwi, Mewari and Vagdee (local dilects) is commonly spoken in villages.
Amongst the local Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
writers that Pratapgarh has produced, 'Pardeshi
Pardeshi
A Pardeshi is a surname of Hindi/Marathi origin. It is used in the Rajput communities, and it is fairly common in certain areas, such as Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujrat.-Origin:...
' (1923–1977) (Real Name : Mannalal Sharma) was a well known literary figure. 'Pardeshi' indeed was a prolific writer with a contribution of 15 novels, 16 poetry-collections, 8 books for children, 5 story-collections, 3 dramas, and 14 translated books in Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
. A small public-park, in his memory has been built at Pratapgarh by the local Municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
.
Although the local tribals make different bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
handicraft
Handicraft
Handicraft, more precisely expressed as artisanic handicraft, sometimes also called artisanry, is a type of work where useful and decorative devices are made completely by hand or by using only simple tools. It is a traditional main sector of craft. Usually the term is applied to traditional means...
s for themselves, the most notable craft evolved by traditional goldsmith
Goldsmith
A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Since ancient times the techniques of a goldsmith have evolved very little in order to produce items of jewelry of quality standards. In modern times actual goldsmiths are rare...
s (Raj-sonis) of Pratapgarh is precious jewelry Thewa
Thewa
Thewa is a special art of jewelry making which involves embossing of intricately worked out sheet gold on molten glass evovled Pratapgarh district India. Its origin dates back to the mughal age.-Process:...
which is in great demand amongst modern ladies in India and abroad.
Media
Local newspapers include Dainik 'Kaanthal-Jot', 'Jai kaanthal', Dainik 'Kuber', whereas national/ state level newspapers are 'Dainik Bhaaskar contact at 01478-220120,9672996870, 9887149876', 'Rajasthan PatrikaRajasthan Patrika
Rajasthan Patrika is a Hindi language daily newspaper published from Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Udaipur, Kota and other cities of Rajasthan and from major Indian cities such as Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur , Raipur, Ahmedabad, Gwalior, Kolkata, Chennai, New Delhi and Bangalore.-History:Rajasthan...
'and Dainik Navajyoti
Dainik Navajyoti
Dainik Navajyoti is a Hindi language daily newspaper published from Jaipur, Jodhpur, Ajmer & Kota Rajasthan. It started in 1936.-History:...
.
Dainik Bhaskar
Dainik Bhaskar
Dainik Bhaskar is an Indian Hindi-language daily newspaper published by D B Corp Ltd.. It was started in year 1958 from Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh...
, Dainik Navajyoti
Dainik Navajyoti
Dainik Navajyoti is a Hindi language daily newspaper published from Jaipur, Jodhpur, Ajmer & Kota Rajasthan. It started in 1936.-History:...
, and 'Rajasthan Patrika
Rajasthan Patrika
Rajasthan Patrika is a Hindi language daily newspaper published from Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Udaipur, Kota and other cities of Rajasthan and from major Indian cities such as Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur , Raipur, Ahmedabad, Gwalior, Kolkata, Chennai, New Delhi and Bangalore.-History:Rajasthan...
' are publishing regular featured material on Pratapgarh highlighting its daily news.
One local amateur historian Mr. Madan Vaishnav has done a commendable job by bringing into light lesser known historical sites of the district by writing valuable series-articles in local newspapers and magazines. Similarly local journalist Anupam Pardesi is also raising a voice regularly on electronic media for 'effective protection and conservation' of ignored historical sites in Pratapgarh.
A local news channel “Raj News” has also started functioning since April 2011. Local representatives of channels like E TV
Etv India
ETV Network is one of the largest networks of satellite television channels in India and is owned by the media baron Ramoji Rao. Based at Hyderabad, the network runs a group of 12 regional language news and entertainment channels....
, TV99, Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
, HBC and Doordarshan
DoorDarshan
Doordarshan is an Indian public service broadcaster, a division of Prasar Bharati. It is one of the largest broadcasting organizations in India in terms of the infrastructure of studios and transmitters. Recently, it has also started Digital Terrestrial Transmitters. On September 15, 2009,...
are highlighting Pratapgarh news on their electronic news channels.
An Information Centre or media centre (Soochna Kendra) (with an initial cost of 70 lakhs) has been got sanctioned by Government of Rajasthan that shall have all inhouse necessary facilities for journalists and mediamen.
Cinema halls
There are 5 cinema-halls in Pratapgarh district, three of which are in the town. They are “Archana”, “Pratap” and “Samata”. The ‘Pratap theatre’ was the first cinema-hall in the entire Udaipur zone when it was built in 1945 AD. The former ‘Darpan” cinema has now been shut. There is one small cinema-hall in Chhoti Sadri and one in Dhariyawad.Demographics
According to the 2011 census2011 census of India
The 15th Indian National census was conducted in two phases, houselisting and population enumeration. Houselisting phase began on April 1, 2010 and involved collection of information about all buildings...
Pratapgarh district (Rajasthan) has a population
Demographics of India
The demographics of India are inclusive of the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.21 billion people , more than a sixth of the world's population. Already containing 17.5% of the world's population, India is projected to be the world's most populous country by 2025, surpassing...
of 868,231, roughly equal to the nation of Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
or the US state of Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
. This gives it a ranking of 472nd in India (out of a total of 640
Districts of India
A district is an administrative division of an Indian state or territory. Districts are further subdivided, in some cases into Sub-Divisions, and otherwise directly into tehsils or talukas.District officials include:...
). The district has a population density of 211 PD/sqkm . Its population growth rate
Family planning in India
Family planning in India is based on efforts largely sponsored by the Indian government. In the 1965-2009 period, contraceptive usage has more than tripled and the fertility rate has more than halved , but the national fertility rate is still high enough to cause long-term population growth...
over the decade 2001-2011 was 22.84 %. Pratapgarh has a sex ratio
Sex ratio
Sex ratio is the ratio of males to females in a population. The primary sex ratio is the ratio at the time of conception, secondary sex ratio is the ratio at time of birth, and tertiary sex ratio is the ratio of mature organisms....
of 982 females
Women in India
The status of women in India has been subject to many great changes over the past few millennia. From equal status with men in ancient times through the low points of the medieval period, to the promotion of equal rights by many reformers, the history of women in India has been eventful...
for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate
Literacy in India
Literacy in India is key for socio-economic progress, and the Indian literacy rate grew to 74.04% in 2011 from 12% at the end of British rule in 1947. Although this was a greater than sixfold improvement, the level is well below the world average literacy rate of 84%, and India currently has the...
of 56.3 %.
The population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of Pratapgarh in 1881 AD was 79,568; whereas it was 1,10,530 in 1951.
Economy
Major crops of this region are wheatWheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
, maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, groundnuts, soya beans, gram
Gram
The gram is a metric system unit of mass....
, mustard
Mustard plant
Mustards are several plant species in the genera Brassica and Sinapis whose small mustard seeds are used as a spice and, by grinding and mixing them with water, vinegar or other liquids, are turned into the condiment known as mustard or prepared mustard...
, and some pulse
Pulse
In medicine, one's pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the heartbeat by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed against a bone, such as at the neck , at the wrist , behind the knee , on the inside of the elbow , and near the...
s.
Opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
is also a major crop of Pratapgarh. There are 6,781 license holder-farmers in the district cultivating opium. The production of opium in 2011 in Pratapgarh district was 15,85,373.410 kg precisely as per statistics of District Opium Officer, Pratapgarh, Narcotics Bureau, Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
.
Irrigation
The major Irrigation project of the district is the Jakham DamJakham Dam
Jakham Dam is a dam located in Pratapgarh District in Rajasthan in India. It is located in Anooppura village of Pratapgarh Tehsil, 32 Km from Dhariawad and 35 km from Pratapgarh town. The dam is a main irrigation project of the area....
, located in Anooppura village of Pratapgarh Tehsil, 32 km from Dhariawad
Dhariawad
Dhariawad is a census town in Pratapgarh district in the state of Rajasthan, India.-Demographics: India census, Dhariawad had a population of 10,494. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Dhariawad has an average literacy rate of 68%, higher than the national average of 59.5%:...
and 35 km from district headquarters. This dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
was built on the Jakham river, which originates from a small village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
Jakhamia in chhoti sadree subdivision
Subdivision
Subdivision may refer to:* Country subdivision** Subdivision , a term for an urban or suburban area, especially if recently parceled up into smaller plots for new uses** Census geographic units of Canada , a term used in Canada...
. The Jakham dam's foundation was laid on 14 May 1968 by chief minister
Chief Minister
A Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, provinces of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a British Overseas Territory that has attained self-government...
Mohan Lal Sukhadia
Mohan Lal Sukhadia
Mohan Lal Sukhadia was a political and social leader who served as Chief Minister of Rajasthan for 17 years . He became Chief Minister at age of 38 years and was responsible for bringing major reforms and developments in Rajasthan...
, however, the actual construction-work of the dam started in 1969-70. The dam itself was completed in 1986, but took another twelve years for the completion of this irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
project in March 2000. Initially the catchment
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
of the Jakham Dam was 5,015 MCft for irrigating 52,354 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s of land. Out of its total water retention capacity of 5,015 MC ft, the usable water capacity is 4,671 MC ft. The cost of this project is 106.03 crore. The length of this Dam is 253 meters, out of which spillway
Spillway
A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of flows from a dam or levee into a downstream area, typically being the river that was dammed. In the UK they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways release floods so that the water does not overtop and damage or even destroy...
is in 90 m in length. The area around the dam is hilly and rugged but interesting. 13 km away from the main dam, Nangaliya pick up ware has been constructed with Left main canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
(39.90 km) and right main canal(34.12 km). Irrigation facility is being provided in 118 villages in Dhariawad
Dhariawad
Dhariawad is a census town in Pratapgarh district in the state of Rajasthan, India.-Demographics: India census, Dhariawad had a population of 10,494. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Dhariawad has an average literacy rate of 68%, higher than the national average of 59.5%:...
sub-division.
Agriculture
Pratapgarh is one of the greenest districts of Rajasthan. Major crops, as indicated above, are wheatWheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, Maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, Soya bean and opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
.
Agriculture is practised both in the valleys and on the tableland on the hilltop
Hilltop
-Place names:England*Hilltop, Buckinghamshire*Hilltop, DerbyshireHong Kong*Hilltop Building, Cloud View Road, North PointUnited States*Hilltop, former name of Fuller Acres, California*Fairmede-Hilltop, Richmond, California, commonly referred to as "Hilltop"...
s. Common lands account for 40% of the total geographical area, nearly 30 % of the comman lands fall in the forest land category. The area is a schedule V area, predominantly inhabitaed by the tribal communities.
Meena
Meena
Meena Durairaj, mononymously known as Meena, born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, is a South Indian film and television actress. Meena debuted as a child artist in Telugu and Tamil films and has later starred in films produced by various regional industries. She is one of the most established...
s are the most numerous comprising about 55% of the entire population. Average landholdings are small and canal irrigation facilities are limited only to Dahriyawad and Peepal Khoont tehsils, therefore agriculture is mostly rain-fed. Besides farming, the tribal communities depend upon the forests for their food, fodder and fuel (wood requirements). Many of the members of tribal communities do migrate to nearby towns in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
to find a job as farm-labourers or construction workers!
The production of wheat in 2009–10 was 1,90,585 MT in the district, of Maize it was 1,28,984 MT followed by Soya bean as 1,69,133, Mustered as 8,296 MT. Small quantity of Rice-production (989 MT) was also recorded.
Public representatives
In 2009 the number of members of the Lok SabhaLok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
or the Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
was 3. Dr. Ms. Girija Vyas
Girija Vyas
She has written eight books, three of which contain her poetry. Ehsaas Ke Par has her Urdu poems, Seep, Samundar Aur Moti has both her Hindi and Urdu poems while Nostalgia is enriched with English verses.- Positions held :* M.L.A., Rajasthan...
represents Pratapgarh in Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
currently.
Members of the Legislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its branch.The name is used by a number of member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of Latin American countries....
are Nandlal Meena (Bhartiya Janata Party) (Pratapgarh), Udailal Anjna (Chittaurgarh-Chhoti Sadree-Indian National Congress-) Nanalal Ninama (Banswada-Peepal Khoont-Indian National Congress)), Nagraj Meena Dhariawad (ST)(Indian National Congress), Prakash Chaudhry (Badi Sadri-Pratapgarh-(Indian National Congress). Out of these five MLAs directly elected from the district are from Dhariyawad and Pratapgarh constituencies.
The duly elected Zila Parishad (2010) headed by Badri Lal Patidar consists of 17 members, whereas the Pratapgarh Municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
(Chairman-Kamlesh Doshi) has 25 and Chhoti Sadri (Chairman-Shyam sundar Agarwal) has 20 elected members (2010).
There are 152 gram panchayat
Gram panchayat
Gram panchayats are local self-governments at the village or small town level in India. As of 2002 there were about 265,000 gram panchayats in India. The gram panchayat is the foundation of the Panchayat System. A gram panchayat can be set up in villages with minimum population of 300...
s (GPs) in Pratapgarh with 1630 elected members in all. Pratapgarh Block has 42 GPs, with 21 members in Panchayat Samiti
Panchayat samiti
Panchayat samiti is a local government body at the tehsil or Taluka level in India. It works for the villages of the Tehsil or Taluka that together are called a Development Block. The Panchayat Samiti is the link between the Gram Panchayat and the district administration. There are a number of...
(PS), 28 GPs in Arnod Block with 15 members in PS, 24 GPs in Chhoti Sadri with 15 PS members, 31 GPs in Dhariyawad Block with 17 members in PS; and 27 GPs in Peepalkhoont Block with 15 members of the PS.
New elections for class 'A' Krishi Upaj Mandi of Pratapgarh have taken place( August 2011).
Transport
Pratapgarh is well connected with major cities in RajasthanRajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, Gujarat & Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
by road . Daily Bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
Services connect Pratapgarh with Chittaurgarh (110 KM ), Banswara
Banswara
Banswara is a city in Banswara District in south Rajasthan in India. Banswara princely state was founded by Maharawal Jagmal Singh. It is named for the "bans" or bamboo forests in the area. It is also known as 'City of Hundred Islands', due to presence of numerous islands in the Mahi River, which...
(80 KM), Udaipur
Udaipur
Udaipur , also known as the City of Lakes, is a city, a Municipal Council and the administrative headquarters of the Udaipur district in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It is located southwest of the state capital, Jaipur, west of Kota, and northeast from Ahmedabad...
(165 KM), Dungarpur
Dungarpur
Dungarpur is a city in the southernmost part of Rajasthan state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Dungarpur District. The rail line between Udaipur and Himatnagar in Gujarat runs through the town, shortest distance to the National Highway 8 from Dungapur town is...
(95 KM), Rajsamand
Rajsamand
Rajsamand is a town of Rajasthan state of western India. The city is named for Rajsamand Lake, an artificial lake created in the 17th century by Rana Raj Singh of Mewar. It is the administrative headquarters of Rajsamand District.-Geography:...
(200 KM), Jodhpur
Jodhpur
Jodhpur , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located west from the state capital, Jaipur and from the city of Ajmer. It was formerly the seat of a princely state of the same name, the capital of the kingdom known as Marwar...
(435 KM), Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....
(421 KM) Neemach (62 km ) Ratlam
Ratlam
Ratlam , known historically as Ratnapuri, is a city in the Malwa region in Madhya Pradesh state of central India. The town of Ratlam lies 480 m above sea level. It is the administrative headquarters of Ratlam District....
(85 KM), Mandsaur
Mandsaur
Mandsaur or Mandsour is a city in the Malwa region and district of Madhya Pradesh state of central India. It is the administrative headquarters of Mandsaur District.-Origin of name:...
(32 KM) and Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
(705 KM) and many other cities in Rajasthan. Private Bus operators are also providing regular connectivity to Pratapgarh from nearby places.
The total length of roads in the district is 1879 km, with more than 7,500 registered light and heavy vehicles.
It is the only district without rail
Rail
Rail or rails may refer to:Railway transportation* A generic term for railroads, railways, rail transport, and related matters* Rail tracks, or railway lines, the running surface of a railway...
-connectivity in Rajasthan state. However, as a result of untiring efforts by ex-district collector Hemant Shesh
Hemant Shesh
Hemant Shesh is an Indian Hindi writer, poet and civil servant.- Biography :Shesh completed his post graduate education from the University of Rajasthan in Jaipur. He then joined the Rajasthan Administrative Service in 1977...
, the Government of Rajasthan
Government of Rajasthan
The Government of Rajasthan also known as the State Government of Rajasthan, or locally as State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Rajasthan and its 33 districts...
agreed to pursue vigorously with Ministry of Railways
Ministry of Railways
Ministry of Railways may refer to:* Ministry of Railways * Ministry of Railways * Ministry of Railways * Ministry of Railways * Ministry of Railways...
, Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
to connect Pratapgarh with broad-gauge from Mandsaur
Mandsaur
Mandsaur or Mandsour is a city in the Malwa region and district of Madhya Pradesh state of central India. It is the administrative headquarters of Mandsaur District.-Origin of name:...
(32 km), for which appropriate financial contribution to GOI may also be made by the state, if required. It is therefore, presumed that a new railway track ultimately shall be laid from Mandsaur to Pratapgarh, as publicly assured and announced by Shri Ashok Gahlot, the chief minister of Rajasthan on 18 May 2011 at Pratapgarh.
Due to Pratapgarh's strategic location, the Airport Authority of India has installed a VOR station
VHF omnidirectional range
VOR, short for VHF omnidirectional radio range, is a type of radio navigation system for aircraft. A VOR ground station broadcasts a VHF radio composite signal including the station's identifier, voice , and navigation signal. The identifier is typically a two- or three-letter string in Morse code...
in Pratapgarh on Dariyawad Road for guiding high altitude jet aircraft
Jet aircraft
A jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes – as high as . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances. The engines in propeller-powered aircraft...
s. (It is said that Pratapgarh is at the midpoint of the Delhi-Mumbai Air Route.
An airstrip has been approved by the Government of Rajasthan in April 2011 to be constructed in Varmandal village (13 km from Pratapgarh). Temporary helipad
Helipad
Helipad is a common abbreviation for helicopter landing pad, a landing area for helicopters. While helicopters are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard surface away from obstacles where a helicopter can safely...
s are in operation at 4 places in Pratapgarh, Dhariyawad, Peepalkhoont and Chhoti Sadri.
Medical and health services
There is one 'District Hospital' at Pratapgarh (with 277 bed-capacity), 7 Community Health Centers and dispensaries, 53 Ayurvedic and homeopathyHomeopathy
Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine in which practitioners claim to treat patients using highly diluted preparations that are believed to cause healthy people to exhibit symptoms that are similar to those exhibited by the patient...
hospitals and dispensaries, 23 PHCs (Primary Health Centres), 2 allopathic dispensaries and 153 Sub-centers in Pratapgarh. Ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
on call “Emergency 108–service” is available in Pratapgarh, Dhariyawad, Arnod, Peepalkhoont and Chhoti Sadri with nine such equipped vans. An inbuilt multi-facility Mobile Medical Unit (MMU) has also been added to Pratapgarh Civil Hospital to cater to the medical needs of far-off villages in June 2011.
Postal services and banking
Pratapgarh has 8 post officePost office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
s at Pratapgarh, Katchahri-Pratapgarh, Arnod, Dalot, Rathanjana, Dhariyawad, Chhoti Sadri, Peepalkhoont, Dhamotar and Bambori (Branch offices).
There are 26 Commercial Bank
Commercial bank
After the implementation of the Glass–Steagall Act, the U.S. Congress required that banks engage only in banking activities, whereas investment banks were limited to capital market activities. As the two no longer have to be under separate ownership under U.S...
s, 12 Regional Rural Banks, 4 Cooperative sector Banks, and 2 Land Development Banks. The number of ATM
Automated teller machine
An automated teller machine or automatic teller machine, also known as a Cashpoint , cash machine or sometimes a hole in the wall in British English, is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public...
s available in Pratapgarh district is 11, out of which 8 are in the town, while one each is at chhoti sadri, Arnod and Dhariyawad.
Telecommunications
PostpaidPostpaid
Post Paid: A model of cellular service whereby the customer is charged for usage in the prior month , and hence does not feature any limitations on volume of service used...
Telecommunication
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
services are being run only by BSNL (evdo) for 13,502 consumers (9,492 Rural and 4,010 Urban consumers in 2010–11,), but Airtel, Aircell
Aircell
Aircell is a private company started in 1991 developing broadband for both private and commercial aviation. Aircell is the only company in the United States authorized by the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Aviation Administration to use frequencies in the 800 MHz band for...
, Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
, Idea
Idea
In the most narrow sense, an idea is just whatever is before the mind when one thinks. Very often, ideas are construed as representational images; i.e. images of some object. In other contexts, ideas are taken to be concepts, although abstract concepts do not necessarily appear as images...
, Tata Indicom
Tata Indicom
Tata Teleservices Limited is a Indian broadband and telecommunications provider based in Mumbai, India. It is a subsidiary of the Tata Group, an Indian conglomerate...
and Reliance
Reliance
-Companies:* Reliance Industries, an Indian conglomerate of companies headed by Mukesh Ambani** Reliance Petroleum** Reliance Life Sciences** Reliance Solar** Reliance Logistics** Reliance Industrial Infrastructure** Reliance Institute of Life Sciences...
Communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
companies are providing 'pre-paid' facilities to other mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
users. There are three private cable operators in the city: 'Pratap', 'Chetak' and 'Raj'.
Education
The standard of educationEducation
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
in Pratapgarh has risen radically since the late 1990s, however 20,986 children of 6–14 age group were to be linked with school education under sarva shiksha abhiyan(July 2011). The first (so called) English-medium middle school Burhani Baage Naunihal School was opened in 1986. Since then many private educational institutes have come up including St. Paul's (English medium) School in 1989. Educational services are available for primary (up to 5th class), middle (up to 8th class), secondary (up to 10th class), higher secondary (up to 12th class) and graduation (Bachelor's Degree). There are 1453 Government schools in the district: 929 Primary, 325 Middle, 154 Secondary and 45 Senior Secondary Schools, 3 colleges for general education, 4 colleges for vocational education
Vocational education
Vocational education or vocational education and training is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation...
and 6 it is for boys and girls. One private Engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
named as “Regional Engineering college” located at Dhamottar village and a public sector
Public sector
The public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...
Industrial training institute
Industrial training institute
Industrial Training Institutes & "Industrial Training Centers" are training institute which provide training in technical field and constituted under Directorate General of Employment & Training , Ministry of Labour & Employment, Union Government of India.-Structure:Industrial Training Institutes ...
in the town are offering technical courses. There is also a Government polytechnic college offering technical diploma. With the initiative of the ex-district collector, a new graduate Girls' Collge in Public–private partnership mode (PPP mode) is underway in the town like a new Industrial training institute(ITI) in Peepal Khoont. The nearest University is Mohan Lal Sukhadia University at Udaipur
Udaipur
Udaipur , also known as the City of Lakes, is a city, a Municipal Council and the administrative headquarters of the Udaipur district in the state of Rajasthan in western India. It is located southwest of the state capital, Jaipur, west of Kota, and northeast from Ahmedabad...
, to which, most of the local colleges, including the Government College are affiliated.
Shops and fuel supply
There are 262 Fair Price Shops (FPS) in rural areas, 25 FPS in urban locations, 3 LPG agencies, 12 Petrol Pumps in ruralRural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
and 7 in urban
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
areas for supply of LPG, Petrol and Diesel with additional 4 barrel points. There are no malls or big departmental stores in the town as yet. Opening of new FPSs in rural and urban areas is underway(2011).
Flora and fauna
Sita Mata Wildlife SanctuarySita Mata Wildlife Sanctuary
Sita Mata Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary situated in south-east portion of Pratapgarh district , declared as the protected forest area vide Government of Rajasthan Notification no. F 11 Revenue/8/79 Dated 2.11.1979. Having an area of 422.95 square kilometers, it is a dense forest...
As indicated above, Since the early times the north-west part of this region had dense forests consisting of valuable Sagwaan, Chandan, Sheesham, Saalar, Dhaak, Dhonk, Kadamb, Mahua, Babool, Imlee and Baans trees in abundance and therefore in 1828 AD, a separate state forest department was created to manage state's exceptionally rich forest wealth.
The thickly wooded Sita Mata Wildlife Sanctuary
Sita Mata Wildlife Sanctuary
Sita Mata Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary situated in south-east portion of Pratapgarh district , declared as the protected forest area vide Government of Rajasthan Notification no. F 11 Revenue/8/79 Dated 2.11.1979. Having an area of 422.95 square kilometers, it is a dense forest...
sprawls over the Aravali ranges and the Malwa plateau
Plateau
In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
, with three seasonal rivers flowing through the forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
. Located about 45 km from Pratapgarh and 108 km from the divisional Hqrs. Udaipur, the sanctuary, covering 423 km2. of mainly dry deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
vegetation
Vegetation
Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...
has exceptionally rich flora and fauna. It is the only forest region, where more than half the trees are high building value teak
Teak
Teak is the common name for the tropical hardwood tree species Tectona grandis and its wood products. Tectona grandis is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Burma, but is naturalized and cultivated in many countries, including those in Africa and the...
. Salar (Boswellia Serrata Rox. ex coleb) , Tendu (Diospyros melonoxy Roxb.), Bad (Ficus bengalensis), Peepal (Ficus Religiosa Linn.), Neem (Azadiracta Indica), Siras, Churail, Kachnar, Gulmohar, Amaltas, Bakayan, Ashok, Mahua, Semal, Goondi, Khejadi, Amla, bamboo, Sindoor, chironjee, Rudraksha and Bel trees are also found in abundance.
Two new bird varieties for the first time in Rajasthan were noticed in Sita Mata WL sanctuary about five years ago, they are- White-thorated Ground thrush and Black-necked Monarch.
On the initiative of the earlier District Collector
District collector
The District Collector is the district head of administration of the bureaucracy in a state of India. Though he/she is appointed and is under general supervision of the state government, he/she has to be a member of the elite IAS recruited by the Central Government...
& District Magistrate Hemant Shesh
Hemant Shesh
Hemant Shesh is an Indian Hindi writer, poet and civil servant.- Biography :Shesh completed his post graduate education from the University of Rajasthan in Jaipur. He then joined the Rajasthan Administrative Service in 1977...
, the Botany Department of the Mohan Lal Sukhadia University, Udaipur has agreed to undertake further various research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
projects to study in details its rich and varied flora and fauna. Although a tentative checklist of flora and fauna available in the sanctuary has been made by the department of forest, the place offers infinite scope of indepth research in this field.
The most striking animal of Sita Mata sanctuary is the vegetarian mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
flying squirrel
Flying squirrel
Flying squirrels, scientifically known as Pteromyini or Petauristini, are a tribe of 44 species of squirrels .- Description :...
('Petaurista-philippensis'), which can be seen gliding
Gliding
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.Gliding as a sport began in the 1920s...
from one tree to another just around sunset.
The Sanctuary provides rich pastures for a variety of deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
that includes the Chousingha (four-horned antelope
Four-horned Antelope
The Four-horned Antelope , or Chousingha, is a small antelope found in open forest in India and Nepal. It is the only species currently classified in the genus Tetracerus.-Description:...
). Caracal, wild boar, pangolin
Pangolin
A pangolin , also scaly anteater or Trenggiling, is a mammal of the order Pholidota. There is only one extant family and one genus of pangolins, comprising eight species. There are also a number of extinct taxa. Pangolins have large keratin scales covering their skin and are the only mammals with...
, leopard
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
, hyena
Hyena
Hyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora , and one of the smallest in the mammalia...
, jackal
Jackal
Although the word jackal has been historically used to refer to many small- to medium-sized species of the wolf genus of mammals, Canis, today it most properly and commonly refers to three species: the black-backed jackal and the side-striped jackal of sub-Saharan Africa, and the golden jackal of...
, fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
, jungle cat
Jungle Cat
The jungle cat is a medium-sized cat and considered the largest remaining species of the wild cat genus Felis. The species is also called the swamp lynx but is not closely related to the lynxes....
, porcupine
Porcupine
Porcupines are rodents with a coat of sharp spines, or quills, that defend or camouflage them from predators. They are indigenous to the Americas, southern Asia, and Africa. Porcupines are the third largest of the rodents, behind the capybara and the beaver. Most porcupines are about long, with...
, spotted deer, wild bear, and neelgai are other animals found here. As per the wild life census conducted on 17 May 2011, the number of wild life animals in the centuary was 1711 (inclusive of 10 leopard
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
s,538 Jackal
Jackal
Although the word jackal has been historically used to refer to many small- to medium-sized species of the wolf genus of mammals, Canis, today it most properly and commonly refers to three species: the black-backed jackal and the side-striped jackal of sub-Saharan Africa, and the golden jackal of...
s, 38 hyena
Hyena
Hyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora , and one of the smallest in the mammalia...
s,39 fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
es, 117 jungle cat
Jungle Cat
The jungle cat is a medium-sized cat and considered the largest remaining species of the wild cat genus Felis. The species is also called the swamp lynx but is not closely related to the lynxes....
s etc.)
The best time to visit Sitamata Sanctuary is between October and February. It also houses ancient Valmiki
Valmiki
Valmiki is celebrated as the poet harbinger in Sanskrit literature. He is the author of the epic Ramayana, based on the attribution in the text of the epic itself. He is revered as the Adi Kavi, which means First Poet, for he discovered the first śloka i.e...
Ashram- the birth place of Luv
Lava (Ramayana)
Lava or Luv and his twin brother Kusha, were the children of the Lord Rama and his wife Sita, whose story is recounted in the Ramayana. Per that text, he is known as the founder of Lavapuri,that is, the modern day city of Lahore,...
and Kush
Kusha (Ramayana)
Kusha , in Hindu mythology, was one of the twin sons of Lord Rama and Sita . Born in the Forest after Sita had been banished from Ayodhya, they were educated and trained in military skills and were under the care of Sage Valmiki....
(the twins born to Sita
SITA
SITA is a multinational information technology company specialising in providing IT and telecommunication services to the air transport industry...
and Lord Rama), Hanuman
Hanuman
Hanuman , is a Hindu deity, who is an ardent devotee of Rama, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and one of the dearest devotees of lord Rama. A general among the vanaras, an ape-like race of forest-dwellers, Hanuman is an incarnation of the divine and a disciple of Lord Rama in the...
and Sitamata temple
Temple
A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
s and other places of historical and mythological importance.
Another significant place of interest in the Sanctuary 5 km from 'Tikhi Magri' is 'Lakhiya Bhata'- where series of prehistoric animals are engraved on rocks.
Serious efforts have been made by ex-collector Hemant Shesh
Hemant Shesh
Hemant Shesh is an Indian Hindi writer, poet and civil servant.- Biography :Shesh completed his post graduate education from the University of Rajasthan in Jaipur. He then joined the Rajasthan Administrative Service in 1977...
to get this lovely sanctuary declared as the national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
.
Pratapgarh-Towards being e-district
The National Informatics CentreNational Informatics Centre
The National Informatics Centre ' is the main science & technology organisation of India's Union Government in informatics services and information-and-communication- technology applications...
NIC is a part of the Indian Ministry of Communications
Ministry of Communications
Ministry of Communications may refer to:* Ministry of Communications * Ministry of Communications * Ministry of Communications * Ministry of Communications of Morocco...
& Information Technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
headquartered in New Delhi. It has offices in all 28 state capitals, 7 union-territory headquarters and at all district headquarters. To cater to the ICT needs at the grassroots level, the NIC has also opened offices at almost all district collectorates of the country.
NIC unit at Pratapgarh:
District Pratapgarh is actively making use of computer technology as a decision support system. The NIC Computer Centre at Pratapgarh was set up in August, 2008, to introduce and promote the informatics culture and to create the computer awareness among the masses and government organizations in particular. It provides the facilities of using NICNET and electronic mail. In close cooperation with the district administration, the NIC unit has launched many programmes for computerization in different sectors and is also regularly conducting short-term training courses on the computer related subjects .
1. Assembly / Parliamentary Election: NIC district centre is providing all types of assistance to District Election Officer during Assembly/Parliamentary elections. List of all polling stations, staff working in District, Transport plan with various details have been computerized. Duties of Presiding/Polling officers, Zonal/Sector Magistrates to be assigned to officers/officials during election are the sole responsibility of NIC. Software with randomization technique have been prepared and is being used for assigning various election duties.
2. Land Record Computerisation: LRC focus of work has now shifted to mutation, updating, issuing of record of rights (“Khata nakal”) to land holders, yearly rotational Jamabandies. Entire work is being done at all tehsils HQs. with timely support in respect of software and hardware troubleshootings.
3. TCS (Treasury): To prepare monthly payment schedule. The role of Treasury is to control the budget of various offices / departments. The offices are getting payment through Government Bank.
4. Sub-Treasury: Technical support and services was given to all 5 sub-treasury offices of Pratapgarh district. Data Supplied from sub-treasury is merged and consolidated and soft copy is regularly being prepared for onward transmission to the State Govt.
5. Data Depository System (DDS): Monthly payroll data was checked and validated on Linux clients in treasury for this purpose.
6. Old Age Pension: Data of all 5 tehsils has been fed for generating the automated money orders to the beneficiaries. ATO (Pension) is releasing on-line payment to pensioners.
7. Paybill Software: has been developed to prepare monthly salary bills, payinner, payouter and different reports. More than 65 DDOs are using this software and 200 DDOs are receiving the text data from Computer service providers every month.
8. Public Greviances System : The s/w was redesigned and tailormade programs were developed according to the need of the district administration.
9. SUGAM, Single Window System: SUGAM S/w has been implemented at all 5 Tehsils & District headquarter. The reports generated are – Domicile certificates, Caste certificates, Income tax certificates etc.
10. Video-Conferencing: 80 Successful sessions of Video Conferencing were held up to 30 June 2011 between officials of district with other officials outside the district.
11. Support Services: As directed by the HQ / State-Unit different offices in the district were periodically visited for resolving their e-problems.
12. Comman Service Centre: Under the CSC project initiated by DOIT, 40 Kiosks have been identified so far. 28 Comman Service Centres are delivering G-2-C services at present.
13. Sugamrpg (PGS Portal): It is an effective portal to deal with online public grivencences.
14. e-mitra: Two kiosks are providing services in urban areas of Pratapgarh town.
Academic sources
- John Mc Meekin, Arms & Flags of the Indian Princely States, 1990.
- The court Fee and Revenue Stamps of the Princely States of India, Adolph Koeppel & Raymon D. Manners, New York 1983.
- www.pratapgarhrajasthan.nic.in/
- 'Zila Pratapgarh Nirdeshika', Edited and Published by District Administration, Pratapgarh, 2008
- Col. James Tod, 'Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan or the Central and Western Rajpoot States of India', 2 vols. London, Smith, Elder (1829, 1832); New Delhi, Munshiram Publishers, (2001). ISBN 8170691281
External links
- http://pratapgarhrajasthan.nic.in/
- new district
- http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378874105004071
- http://jaipurliteraturefestival.org/hemant-shesh/
- Hemant SheshHemant SheshHemant Shesh is an Indian Hindi writer, poet and civil servant.- Biography :Shesh completed his post graduate education from the University of Rajasthan in Jaipur. He then joined the Rajasthan Administrative Service in 1977...
- http://saralpratapgarh.com/
- http://wikimapia.org/5177636/hi/Dhariyawad
- http://www.fortdhariyawad.com/index.htm
- http://www.mohfw.nic.in/NRHM/Documents/Mobile_Medical_Unit.pdf
- http://museumsrajasthan.gov.in/
- http://informatics.nic.in/onlinenews.php?newsid=1299
- http://pratapgarhrajasthan.nic.in/maps/map.htm
- http://maps.google.co.in/mapsxhr=t&cp=19&hl=en&rlz=1W1ADFA_en&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1280&bih=572&wrapid=tlif131095782718702&q=pratapgarh+rajasthan&um=1&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=0x396685f86c8f3b8b:0x95cf89ea205562bd,Pratapgarh,+Rajasthan&gl=in&ei=EqEjTsnJMc_nrAet5Zj4AQ&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=2&sqi=2&ved=0CCwQ8gEwAQ
(Hemant Shesh 11:01, 25 June 2011 (UTC)